The Relevance of Cancelled Races

Everyone remembers when the New York marathon was cancelled due to SuperStorm Sandy. It was on, it was off. There was a huge outcry. Runners had come from around the world to compete, and suddenly it was called off.

The St. Jude Memphis Marathon was cancelled this year due to inclement weather. I wasn’t sure how to react. I had taken off half a day on Friday to make sure I could get down into Memphis regardless of the weather conditions. We stopped and picked up an extra insulating layer to wear in the starting corrals. We bought hand-warmers to keep the fingers warm. I paid for a motel room downtown. The race wasn’t cancelled until after I’d shelled out the money, checked into the room, shopped at the Expo, etc. We were disappointed, as we’d been fundraising for months, and we’d been training. My daughter and her husband were running the marathon, while my wife and I were running the half. And after all the hard work, and extra expenses to make sure WE were ready, the race was cancelled.

This isn’t just any race–This is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend. You start at FedEx Forum. You run down Beale Street. You run the campus at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. You finish in AutoZone Park. You get your picture taken with Elvis. It’s hard not to get upset. But life is what you make it.

We woke up this morning, showered, and started getting ready to head back to Tipton County. As I looked out the window, it looked COLD. But it also looked inviting. I decided that since I was here, and I already had my warm (snivel) gear, that I might as well…go for a run. So, Julie and I jumped into our running gear, and went out to run.

We ran the campus at St. Jude.

We finished in AutoZone Park

We ran by the FedEx Forum, and down Beale Street.

We had our picture taken with Elvis (Elvi?)

And then, after we finished our run, we went and sat down with a bunch of other cold, crazy, runners for a “continental breakfast” (ha! there was food from Moe’s, Humdingers, Panera, and McAlister’s–not just danishes and coffee) and happened to share a table with a sweet couple from Michigan.

As we were eating, they shared their story with us. She was pregnant, and he was there to run the half. They were supporting St. Jude because of the support St. Jude had given them. They lost their daughter, on her 5th birthday, to cancer.

Suddenly, my frustration with the cancelled race seemed pretty trivial. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t really relevant at all.

My biggest race is yet to come.

I’ve been keeping my (non existent) followers up to date on my races this year. My biggest race is on the horizon.

In Tennessee, Public Defenders are elected officials, and serve 8 year terms.  I can’t wait to update you on this race as it unfolds.

http://www.lyleforpublicdefender.com

 

Race update

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6) *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20) *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27) * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race 🙂

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16) Started off race season better than last year’s best time.

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30) Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20) DONE! Fantastic event around the campus of my alma mater, Arizona State University. Beautiful weather, met up with old Marine and Army buddies for an evening on Mill Avenue. Julie Jones ran with me step for step.

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism. Another cancellation. Not by me. Evidently the course was too wet. We showed up with our rain gear for this “rain or shine” event only to find signs on the door calling it off. Can you say disappointed?

Memphis in May 10k, Tunica (5/17) Unexpected heat on this afternoon/evening race gave me an advantage. A 10K PR and 3rd in my age group.

Flower Power 5k, Covington, TN (5/18) Ran the morning after my 10k PR. Not fast, but not at training pace either. This was a late addition to the schedule.

Zoom Through the Zoo 4 miler, Memphis Zoo (5/23) This 4 mile race has a great after party. The only downside to this race is the crowded start, and the 4 abreast walkers. Great to see everyone out enjoying themselves, but I would be grateful if the start was at least close to the same order as the expected finish.

Overton Park Memorial 3 mile run (5/27) A salute to Memphis servicemen that gave their lives on the field of battle. A great way to spend Memorial Day.

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2) DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Gibson Guitar 5k (6/15) One of the M Town series, along with Zoom Through the Zoo, Harbor Town 5k, and the Stars and Stripes 5k. A hot, muggy run, with a great after party. It was kind of a dirty trick–after the run, you had to climb four flights of stairs to get to the roof of the Gibson Guitar factory.

Stars and Stripes 5k (7/3) The final race of the M Town series, and another hot muggy mess. This was even better because I got across the tracks before the train caused a delay. Great music at the after party, along with Hamburgers and hot dogs. Not to mention a 5k age group PR (I have to track age group PRs because I’ll never be as fast as I was while in the Corps.

Tomato Festival 5k (7/13) A fun, but hilly race in Lauderdale County, TN. The age group PR I set at the Gibson 5k fell by a good 40 seconds.

Road Race Series 5k (7/28) This was actually the second 5k of the series, but I couldn’t make the first one.

Celeberate Munford 5k (8/10) Another local race. Best part about this one, was pushing my granddaughter, Emerson. I was finally the guy that passes people pushing a stroller. Emerson and I have raced together before. I pushed her across the finish line her first race, at the Botanic Garden Daffodil Dash last year. I also got to push her at last year’s Zoom Through The Zoo.

Road Race Series 5 miler (8/11) Hot. Hot and Muggy. Brutal.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)Too busy. Too much stuff to do, had to skip this one.

Road Race Series 5 Miler (8/25) Another hot race, but somewhat cooler.

Cooper Young 4 miler (9/13) This is just a fun run. Lots of spectator participation. Sprinklers, music, drinks. A fun event.

Brighton Centennial 5k (9/14) I love running local races. Although we have some world class runners, and I don’t place, I just love running in my home county. I wish Tipton County had more races. Running this the morning after the Cooper Young 4 miler might not have been overly smart, but I had a good run.

Barnstormer Duathlon (9/21) My first multi-sport. A 2 mile run, followed by a 13 mile bike ride, followed by another 2 mile run. 2nd in my age group–you’ve got to love a small field.

Road Race Series 10K (9/22) Again, doing back-to-back races might be a little ambitious, but I’m having a good time with these. It’s not always about turning in the fastest time–it’s also about just having fun, moving, and enjoying the run.

Road Race Series 10 miler (10/6) If you haven’t run the switchbacks in Shelby Forrest, you haven’t run The Beast. Amazingly tough, the climb switches back and forth while zig zagging up the hill. This is a killer fun race!

Geenline Half Marathon (10/13) This was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Decided that we would run this with our kids (well, they are our kids, even if they’re 25 and 30) since they were training for the St. Jude Marathon and their long run was supposed to be 14 miles that week. I’m grateful to be able to afford to pick up their entry fees, and enjoy spending the time with them. Of course, I didn’t actually see them after the start, as they were some minutes behind me! Yep, a PR for me.

Road Race Series 10 miler (10/20) Just couldn’t bring myself to face The Beast a second time. Actually, I was tied up at a church event. I cooked for our Royal Ambassador chapter at their camporee. Talk about versatile–I took second place in the Dutch Oven cooking competition.

Race for Grace (11/2) This feel good race is in its 17th year! Had the choice of supporting one of three charities, and I, of course, chose Memphis Area Legal Services. I wanted to dig in and race, but had some trouble with my GPS watch. It showed me running a 10:30ish pace, so I kept pushing. I had skimped the training runs, and was really disappointed that I had detrained so much. I passed mile one, with my watch showing a 10:30 pace and Map My Run quoted me an 8:00 and change pace. No wonder I was sucking so much wind! I settled into the race, and kept pushing. A surprise 5k PR at 27:10.

Road Race Series Half-Marathon (11/3) I’ve developed a penchant for these back to back races. After a 5k PR on Saturday, there’s nothing like a Half PR on Sunday! I’m just a different runner this year.

Road Race Series Half-Marathon (11/17) I’m going to sit this one out, I’ve already got two halfs under my laces for this year, and I want to just sit back and cruise for a while. I don’t want to run the risk of injuring myself before the St. Jude Half. That is the event I’m shooting for.

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7)

Race Update

This has been a busy summer. 13 races was an easy goal to meet. In fact, I blew past that ages ago. I even took some time to venture out into multi-sport racing.

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6) *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20) *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27) * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race 🙂

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16) Started off race season better than last year’s best time.

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30) Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20) DONE! Fantastic event around the campus of my alma mater, Arizona State University. Beautiful weather, met up with old Marine and Army buddies for an evening on Mill Avenue. Julie Jones ran with me step for step.

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism. Another cancellation. Not by me. Evidently the course was too wet. We showed up with our rain gear for this “rain or shine” event only to find signs on the door calling it off. Can you say disappointed?

Memphis in May 10k, Tunica (5/17) Unexpected heat on this afternoon/evening race gave me an advantage. A 10K PR and 3rd in my age group.

Flower Power 5k, Covington, TN (5/18) Ran the morning after my 10k PR. Not fast, but not at training pace either. This was a late addition to the schedule.

Zoom Through the Zoo 4 miler, Memphis Zoo (5/23) This 4 mile race has a great after party. The only downside to this race is the crowded start, and the 4 abreast walkers. Great to see everyone out enjoying themselves, but I would be grateful if the start was at least close to the same order as the expected finish.

Overton Park Memorial 3 mile run (5/27) A salute to Memphis servicemen that gave their lives on the field of battle. A great way to spend Memorial Day.

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2) DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Gibson Guitar 5k (6/15) One of the M Town series, along with Zoom Through the Zoo, Harbor Town 5k, and the Stars and Stripes 5k. A hot, muggy run, with a great after party. It was kind of a dirty trick–after the run, you had to climb four flights of stairs to get to the roof of the Gibson Guitar factory.

Stars and Stripes 5k (7/3) The final race of the M Town series, and another hot muggy mess. This was even better because I got across the tracks before the train caused a delay. Great music at the after party, along with Hamburgers and hot dogs. Not to mention a 5k age group PR (I have to track age group PRs because I’ll never be as fast as I was while in the Corps.

Tomato Festival 5k (7/13) A fun, but hilly race in Lauderdale County, TN. The age group PR I set at the Gibson 5k fell by a good 40 seconds.

Road Race Series 5k (7/28) This was actually the second 5k of the series, but I couldn’t make the first one.

Celeberate Munford 5k (8/10) Another local race. Best part about this one, was pushing my granddaughter, Emerson. I was finally the guy that passes people pushing a stroller. Emerson and I have raced together before. I pushed her across the finish line her first race, at the Botanic Garden Daffodil Dash last year. I also got to push her at last year’s Zoom Through The Zoo.

Road Race Series 5 miler (8/11) Hot. Hot and Muggy. Brutal.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)Too busy. Too much stuff to do, had to skip this one.

Road Race Series 5 Miler (8/25) Another hot race, but somewhat cooler.

Cooper Young 4 miler (9/13) This is just a fun run. Lots of spectator participation. Sprinklers, music, drinks. A fun event.

Brighton Centennial 5k (9/14) I love running local races. Although we have some world class runners, and I don’t place, I just love running in my home county. I wish Tipton County had more races. Running this the morning after the Cooper Young 4 miler might not have been overly smart, but I had a good run.

Barnstormer Duathlon (9/21) My first multi-sport. A 2 mile run, followed by a 13 mile bike ride, followed by another 2 mile run. 2nd in my age group–you’ve got to love a small field.

Road Race Series 10K (9/22) Again, doing back-to-back races might be a little ambitious, but I’m having a good time with these. It’s not always about turning in the fastest time–it’s also about just having fun, moving, and enjoying the run.

Road Race Series 10 miler (10/6)

Road Race Series 10 miler (10/20)

Road Race Series Half-Marathon (11/3)

Road Race Series Half-Marathon (11/17)

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7)

Tomato Festival 5k and Pistol Match

I’ve updated the Hot Summer races post with today’s race, but it deserves it’s own entry as well.

This was a hilly course, but I wanted to do well, so I really dug in.

After the run I jetted across town to where the Fraternal Order of Police was having a bowling pin match. This was the first exclusive bowling pin match I’ve ever shot. Of course, the basics don’t change regardless of the target: Sight Alignment, Sight Picture… But again, I wanted to do well. I guess 4th isn’t too bad, given that I don’t make a living with a gun.

Memphis Road Race Series

All right, just bit the bullet and signed up for the Road Race Series. 2 5ks, 2 5 milers, 2 10ks and 2 halfs. Bit off a lot.

Hot summer races

Summer time brings special challenges here in the Midsouth. I’m already a slow runner, and it gets harder and harder to keep up my pace. Humidity is huge factor. When I was a young Marine, we had a wet bulb/heat index to follow. When it was too hot to safely exert ourselves, the command would hoist a black flag. That meant no PT. It also meant more frequent breaks during outside labor.

The M Town race series were all evening races, and on a few, the heat was still oppressive. Any way, here is an update on races so far.

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6) *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20) *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27) * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race 🙂

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16) Started off race season better than last year’s best time.

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30) Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20) DONE! Fantastic event around the campus of my alma mater, Arizona State University. Beautiful weather, met up with old Marine and Army buddies for an evening on Mill Avenue. Julie Jones ran with me step for step.

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism. Another cancellation. Not by me. Evidently the course was too wet. We showed up with our rain gear for this “rain or shine” event only to find signs on the door calling it off. Can you say disappointed?

Memphis in May 10k, Tunica (5/17) Unexpected heat on this afternoon/evening race gave me an advantage. A 10K PR and 3rd in my age group.

Flower Power 5k, Covington, TN (5/18) Ran the morning after my 10k PR. Not fast, but not at training pace either. This was a late addition to the schedule.

Zoom Through the Zoo 4 miler, Memphis Zoo (5/23) This 4 mile race has a great after party. The only downside to this race is the crowded start, and the 4 abreast walkers. Great to see everyone out enjoying themselves, but I would be grateful if the start was at least close to the same order as the expected finish.

Overton Park Memorial 3 mile run (5/27) A salute to Memphis servicemen that gave their lives on the field of battle. A great way to spend Memorial Day.

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2) DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Gibson Guitar 5k (6/15) One of the M Town series, along with Zoom Through the Zoo, Harbor Town 5k, and the Stars and Stripes 5k. A hot, muggy run, with a great after party. It was kind of a dirty trick–after the run, you had to climb four flights of stairs to get to the roof of the Gibson Guitar factory.

Stars and Stripes 5k (7/3) The final race of the M Town series, and another hot muggy mess. This was even better because I got across the tracks before the train caused a delay. Great music at the after party, along with Hamburgers and hot dogs. Not to mention a 5k age group PR (I have to track age group PRs because I’ll never be as fast as I was while in the Corps.

Tomato Festival 5k (7/13) A fun, but hilly race in Lauderdale County, TN. The age group PR I set at the Gibson 5k fell by a good 40 seconds.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)

I’m also still considering the Road Race Series by Memphis Runners Track Club. It consists of two 5ks, two 5 milers, two 10ks, and two Half Marathons.

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7)

I’ve already accomplished the 13 in 2013 that I set out to do.

Running in (and out of) the 901

The 901 area code covers Memphis and other parts of West Tennessee. The 5th largest running club in the U.S. is the Memphis Runners Track Club. We have some world class runners, and a great running community. Today, for example, an 80+ year old man ran a sub 30 minute 3 mile race. What a great inspiration. Memphis races are well put together, and generally a blast.

So, just to update my 13 in 2013, keep reading.  Today made 11. Doesn’t look like it’s going to be a problem to hit 13…

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6)   *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20)   *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27)   * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16)  Started off race season better than last year’s best time.

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30) Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20) DONE! Fantastic event around the campus of my alma mater, Arizona State University. Beautiful weather, met up with old Marine and Army buddies for an evening on Mill Avenue.  Julie Jones ran with me step for step.

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL  (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism. Another cancellation. Not by me. Evidently the course was too wet. We showed up with our rain gear for this “rain or shine” event only to find signs on the door calling it off. Can you say disappointed?

Memphis in May 10k, Tunica (5/17) Unexpected heat on this afternoon/evening race gave me an advantage. A 10K PR and 3rd in my age group.

Flower Power 5k, Covington, TN (5/18) Ran the morning after my 10k PR. Not fast, but not at training pace either. This was a late addition to the schedule.

Zoom Through the Zoo 4 miler, Memphis Zoo (5/23) This 4 mile race has a great after party. The only downside to this race is the crowded start, and the 4 abreast walkers. Great to see everyone out enjoying themselves, but I would be grateful if the start was at least close to the same order as the expected finish.

Overton Park Memorial 3 mile run (5/27) A salute to Memphis servicemen that gave their lives on the field of battle. A great way to spend Memorial Day.

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2)  DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)

I’m also considering the Road Race Series by Memphis Runners Track Club. We’ll let you know.

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7)

I’m having trouble finding longer runs (10k and up). I don’t think I have any readers, much less local readers, but if I do, and you have a suggestion for a race to add, please comment.

Memorial Day

While all of my previous posts have been about running, I’m a defense lawyer, a part-time juvenile magistrate, and an adjunct professor of criminal justice. Consequently, I’m interested in, and follow, justice issues. It is only fitting.

At 17, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. After 24 years and several deployments (including Operation Restore Hope in 1992-1993 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005), I transferred to the Retired Reserve and entered a new phase of life. I’m very proud of my service. I’m proud of the men and women I served with. I’m proud of the things we accomplished. And on this Memorial Day I’m proud to honor those who gave their lives on the field of battle.

It is only fitting that we honor them, and there is no higher way to honor them than to continue to uphold the oath I took all those years ago. It’s not necessary to deploy to combat to protect and defend our Constitution. Many are doing so here at home. In honor of my passed brothers and sisters, in memory of the ideas they fought and died for, I’d like to refer you to Joseph Frey. 

Mr. Frey wasn’t a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine. Mr. Frey is a convicted murderer. Mr. Frey was convicted by a jury in 1993 for a 1991 rape and murder. While I was an active duty Marine, deployed to Somalia, Mr. Frey was being investigated, tried, and convicted for a heinous crime.  The only problem was that his trial and conviction resulted from a process that was repugnant to the Constitution I’d sworn to uphold. It was in contravention to the ideas I thought I was defending.

Luckily, for Mr. Frey and for the Constitution I’ve sworn to defend, there exists a different breed of warrior still in the fight. One of the first people I followed when I joined Twitter in 2008 was @Tcita. In real life, she’s known as Professor Trisha Bushnell at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she is an assistant clinical professor in the Wisconsin Innocence Project.

I’m not going to re-tell the story of Professor Bushnell, her students and Mr. Frey. What I’m going to say is that I’m still proud of the people I serve with, including especially @Tcita. What a magnificent victory on behalf of Mr. Frey and the Constitution.

http://www.law.wisc.edu/news/Articles/New_trial_granted_for_Wisconsin_2013-05-23

#RunnersRun

Just a quick update. Pat’s Run in Tempe is done… Great, amazing, awesome, fantastic.

Local runners, if you have any suggestions, let me know!

Italicized runs are completed. Bold face are paid for.

The Hill and Dale 8 Miler (1/5)

Race 1, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/6)   *

Race 2, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/20)   *

Race 3, Memphis Winter Off-Road Race Series (1/27)   * If I need to, I can consolidate these three and call them 1 race

Cardinal Run, Brighton, TN (3/16)

5k for Freedom, Arlington, TN (3/30) Had to skip this one. Too much rain, too much work.

Junior Auxiliary 5k, Atoka, TN (4/6)

Race Judicata, Memphis, TN (4/6) Doubles!!! to top it off, ran the second race with @MissAttyMaam–a nice pace with good company.

Pat’s Run, Tempe, AZ (4/20) DONE! Fantastic event around the campus of my alma mater, Arizona State University. Beautiful weather, met up with old Marine and Army buddies for an evening on Mill Avenue.  Julie Jones ran with me step for step.

Homewood City Schools Spirit Scamper, Homewood AL  (5/4) ** We’re going to Birmingham for a wedding! Race-based tourism.

Memphis in May 10k (5/17)

Zoom Through the Zoo 4 miler (5/23)

Overton Park Memorial 3 mile run (5/27)

Navy 10 Nautical Miler, Millington, TN (6/2)  DAMN THAT SEQUESTRATION They’ve cancelled this run. Kind of leaves me in a bind.

Breakaway Bardog 5k (8/18)

I’m also considering the Road Race Series by Memphis Runners Track Club. We’ll let you know.

Memphis St. Jude Half Marathon (12/7)