This past weekend Amy and I took off for a long 10 mile run. This was the first long run we did with my new Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch. We ran from the ocean here in San Francisco, through Golden Gate Park and back again and ended our run sipping beers and mai tais at the Park Chalet. I have to admit, this was one of the best runs Amy and I have ever been on (especially considering it was 10 miles)!

If you click on the map above or on this link, you will be connected to the Garmin website where you can review the details from the GPS data of our run. It’s not a big deal, but the data that comes from the watch is just plain interesting to look at (at least to a nerd like me). We averaged 11 minute miles for the whole run and even ran our last miles the fastest, clocking in at 9:41 for the last mile! Typically I would not be that impressed, but this was 10 miles!

Coming up in a few weeks Amy and I are planning on running the San Francisco 1/2 marathon with a goal time of around 2 hours and 10 minutes for the 13 mile race (which if you do the math, is 10 minutes per mile). This is slow for real runners, but considering this is our first long distance race, we have our fingers crossed we can make it. One month of training to go!

Wish us luck with our 1/2 marathon and full marathon training!

Amy wrote a great post about the run we did in southern California a few weeks ago with Run for the Fallen. Read Amy’s blog post, I could not describe it any better.

From WithAmyMac.com:

“Every time I head out for a run, I’m focused on MY goals, MY progress, MY training and making it to the next mile. But today it was different. Today we traveled over 400 miles so we could run 5 miles with the “Run for the Fallen” team. The “Run for the Fallen” team, lead by Jon, is a group of 12 people that after recently losing a loved one in Iraq has decided to run a mile for every fallen U.S. soldier. There have been over 4,080 lives lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom and starting on Flag Day 2008 these runners began their journey from Fort Irwin, CA to Arlington National Cemetery. The goal is to memorialize each soldier by assigning them a mile and planting a flag and placard at the start of that mile.”

Read the rest of Amys description of our trip and experience titled “Today, it’s not about me” on her blog.

Watch the following video all the way to the end… my parents went into the mountains and spotted a bear. It comes REALLY close to the vehicle, and might have scared my parents just a little!

See more great videos on Jims Mevio Profile here.

This coming Wednesday (June 18, 2008 at 6am), Amy and I will be in southern California (near Camp Pendleton) to run 5 to 10 miles with the people at Run for the Fallen. I am proud of the effort they are making and am thankful for what they are doing to help heal the pain of the friends, families and loved ones of the over 4,000 soldiers who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In my opinion, this is a great way to help remember those who have died protecting us.

If you are a runner and you would like to take part in what is going on with the Run for the Fallen folks, head on over to the website www.runforthefallen.org and check out their route map and other links. They have setup a Facebook Group for each day of the event (over 70 days total of running) listing the time and date of every days run, the days running map, and also the name and details of the soldiers they will be running for and memorializing that day. Here is the Facebook Page for the day of the run Amy and I will be taking part in and here are the names and photos of all the soldiers we are running for that day. Even if they are not running through your area, you should take some time if you are a runner or walker to head outside and take a few steps (or a few 1000 steps) to support the cause.

As we all run across the country, there will be an American flag and signcard for every one of the over 4,000 soldiers who have died placed at every single mile. Our friend, Tim McGovern, will have is signcard and flag placed on August 18th in the middle of Virginia on the way to Arlington National Cemetery.
TIME AND PLACE of Our Run:

Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Time: 6:00am - 6:00pm
Location: South Harbor
Street: Harbor Drive S.
City/Town: Oceanside, CA

What is Run for the Fallen (from their Official Site):

ONE MILE FOR EVERY SOLDIER KILLED IN OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.

Beginning Flag Day, June 14, 2008, a dedicated team of runners will run across America from Fort Irwin, CA to Arlington National Cemetery, one mile for every soldier killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. For ten weeks, team members will mark each mile with an American flag and signcard in an apolitical reflection of remembrance of each soldier.

Here is a Video that explains why this run was setup:

How come nobody thought of this before? It’s amazing how a simple idea could potentially change the world. The whole premise of the Carrotmob is this: Organize consumers to shop at a store if the store promises to take a portion of the profits to make environmentally friendly choices. Watch the video below to find out how many people shopped at this tiny convenience store, how much money they made, and the environmental changes they were able to make in return. It’s a long video, but it’s worth it. Their initial results were amazing!

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

• Find Out More about the Carrotmob
• Read a story about them in SF Mag

I woke up Memorial Day to a cool breeze and a bright sun. I had a cup of coffee and headed down to the garage to polish up the motorcycle for the day. The plan was to get dressed and head down to the Golden Gate National Cemetery for a few hours and then to take the rest of the day to ride and… well… think. Both of these are things I do not have the time to enjoy very often.

A little background about the Golden Gate National Cemetery:

• It spans more than 160 acres in San Bruno, CA just outside of San Francisco
• There are nearly 140,000 soldiers and family members with interments here
• It was originally constructed (finished and dedicated) in May of 1942
• Its amazing in size and beauty

Now back to my story. As I was riding towards the gates I was already feeling quite emotional. My whole body was getting warm and I could feel my eyes starting to swell. As I entered the large front gates, the first site inside was a large American flag atop a giant hill. Cascading down the hill were many other flags, some for states, some for other things. The next thing I noticed was the abundance of miniature American flags on poles located next to every single headstone. If you search around, you will find that this is a common way to commemorate the day. My previous research on what to expect when I went to the cemetery lead me to this link where I read the following…

“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”

I cruised extremely slowly through the cemetery, emotions jumping wildly from sadness the thankfulness and back as my mind spun through years of images and videos from tv and movies as well as personal memories with those soldiers who are no longer with us. I didn’t make it far before I had to park and start my walk (which end up taking the next 2.5 hours of my day) through the cemetery. I know the pictures do not do this place justice. It is amazingly huge and hard to grasp the number of people in this one cemetery that are buried here.

I had no idea what I was getting into as I took off on foot through the cemetery. The place seemed enormous and while there were tons of people there, no one was near me, giving me complete freedom to think and talk to myself in peace. I wandered through acres and acres of land reading the names aloud of some of the soldiers and cleaning dirt off some headstones of others with a brush I had brought along with me. Some were extremely old and hard to read and were very coarse from years of weather when you touched them with your hands.

When I thought I had reached the end of the lot, where I had intended on turning around and walking back to my motorcycle, I looked up to realize the cemetery continued off on a 90 degree angle and I had barely covered half of it. I really had no idea how large it was or what I was getting myself into that day. I sat there perplexed by the sheer number of headstones I was seeing as well as the vast amount of land this place covered. I feel truly honored and humbled to live in a country where people give their lives to protect others like they do here.

I headed back to my motorcycle and cruised through the larger half before heading to the top of the hill, which was the center point and main viewing point for the entire area. I should have started here because from the top you can see the entire place spanning in all directions. I talked to a couple of older (80 years old) retired soldiers as I walked around. They were eager to share some of their stories with anyone who would listen… not about wars or killing, but just about living life to the fullest and about loving those around you.

After such an emotional few hours I decided to keep my time of reflection going by heading out for a few hours for a nice long motorcycle ride. I cruised for a few miles up the interstate but then veered off the main roads and followed the winding roads for about 75 miles. I cruised through the hills and eucalyptus trees and eventually ended up at Alice’s, a popular biker bar where, contrary to my guessing, it was practically empty. I hung out there for about an hour, grabbed some food, and just talked with some of the locals and staff who were enjoying the sunny holiday. After that, I saddled back up and took off towards the coast.

I was amazed there was no traffic. Considering how beautiful it was out and the fact that the coastal highway is a typical tourist destination, I had it mostly to my self! I was able to stop and snap all kinds of photos along the way because of that fact. Maybe it is just me, but sometimes I head out on adventures like this and think to myself how great it would be if I didn’t have to deal with assholes the entire day, or traffic, or construction. Today was that day. I had the roads to myself, I cruised alone through the woods, I ate at a typically packed biker bar with only the company of the staff, and as I mentioned earlier, spent most of my day in the cemetery with no one within 20 yards or more of me.

This is the first time I have truly paid my respect to the soldiers who protect us on Memorial Day. Typically it is just another day off of work to spend with family and friends with little thought to why. While spending time with loved ones to me is very important, I am glad to have spent the day alone with my thoughts and memories. I hope you appreciate my story. It is just as much for me as it is for you. To my family and friends and to those around the globe protecting us and our freedom, thank you.

• View My Entire Memorial Day 2008 Collection Here
• Take a Minute to See Old Photos of Tim McGovern and I

Tim: I miss you buddy. Thank you, too.

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This is a solo shot I took of myself, balancing the camera on a nearby pickup truck. It was taken at the end of the day (Memorial Day) and I was thrilled to be watching the sun set on the ocean after such an emotional day. I had spent the morning at the veterans cemetery and then decided to spend a few hours solo, winding through the woods and mountains before heading back towards San Francisco up the coastal highway. I’m too tired now to post the details of my day (with photos) but I will tomorrow. I was pretty amazed with the whole day. To my friends and family reading this… I wish you were here to enjoy this with me.

A quick snapshot from dinner a few nights ago. Nick decided we needed to get dressed up for supper… so we did. We were eating dinner at home (chicken on the grill with a mixed green veggie side of bok choy, asparagus, sugar snap peas, regular peas, etc) and turned on some fancy symphony music to eat dinner to. In this photo, the 10 second photo timer was on for some reason… so we got to laughing really hard waiting for the camera to flash! Enjoy.

Well… tonight is the big night. I am sitting around with Amy, Joe, Pam and Nick having a few frosty beverages shooting the shit preparing for the 2008 Bay to Breakers. We have our costumes prepared, we have a plan for getting to and from the race course, and now… we are drinking whiskey and lemonade drinks :D Check out the photos below to keep up to date with our progress.

This Photo taken by theFerf

We bought a dozen oysters. They were HUGE! If you have ever eaten an oyster and thought to yourself, “I love oysters, I wish they were bigger so I could enjoy more of this delicious taste”, you didn’t really know what you were asking for. There is such a thing as too big! Some of these babies were the size of hot dogs! Check out the photo set in the link below. While you are at it, check out the photos of our tilapia adventure as well. As you can see on Nick and my faces, we were quite scared of what was going on!!

>> View the whole Oyster Photo Set Here