Run, the Devil Dogs are Chasing Me!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009

So I am running at 11:30 at night after my Tuesday gig. I strap my Vibrams on and head out the door. The weather is cool and sweet, the night is dark and thick. I was having a great run until I approach mile 3 and I see 2 sets of eyes reflecting, red and shining back at me.

Positioned about 10 feet away from me I could see these dark masses right in the middle of the road, as my pace got slower. Racoons? Opossoms perhaps? Is it a skunk? The creatures stood up and let out snarls that made my blood run cold. I flipped on my belt-light to see 2 very big dogs with their teeth glaring back at me. The growls got much louder.

My worst fear. The dogs darted after me with conviction. And now they were barking as they charged. My primal brain made an executive desicion without consulting my logical brain-side. I found myself in an involuntary flat out sprint in the other direction within a hundredth of a second.

My body was light, my heart was pounding, and my eyes were sharp. I was taking giant strides at a break-neck speed. I couldn't feel anything as I bolted through the night. That is, except for these to dogs snapping at the back of my calves as they got closer. "Please God NO!" I was saying outloud. They were actually assaulting me. "Oh God NO!" I said again. I could feel the vibrations from their barks on the back of my legs. This can't be happening, I kept thinking to myself. "PLEASE NO!" I was repeating over and over again.

Eventually they turned around, and left me alone, but my pace didn't slow until long afterwards. I am luck, because I am unscathed. But I was very shaken up by the event. My adrenaline was pumping brother.

I wish that people with devil dogs could be strung up by their toenails, hang naked in town-square, and splattered with hot-sauce. Because it's not fair for the rest of us to have to tolerate these evil creatures created by neglectful parenthood. These territorial dogs are a crime against civilization.

I am considering running with a stick from now on.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 10:06 PM, ,


Florida Trek: It's Just Gotta Happen!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I am up in the air as to how I should run across the state, should I really be able to pull this off. It is not a big question of IF someone could get across the state running on foot. It's a question of TIME away from busy schedules. Time away from work, family, life. Both for training, and for the actual event. If I could section off enough time for training, and have a definate plan for hoofing across the width of the state, it would be 80% less daunting of a task. But I need to be working my mileage to 100 miles per week in order to be ready for the high mileage ahead, if this works out.

Lodging presents an issue too. Where do I stay? Pitch a tent? Have Jamie follow me in a trailer? Push a stroller with my camping gear? Hotels? Money is always an issue too, although I would try for sponsors, but would they really be interested in a wild red-headed barefoot runner treking across the sunshine state? I mean, it's not all that impressive in the grand scheme of life. There are folks ruunning across the US in only a handful of months. People running time-honored ultra-marathons in the heart of the desert, like Badwater. Folks running up mountains at 23,000 ft elevation. Monsters who run across continents, or Appalachian trail runs, etc. So could I even find a sponsor at all?

I'd also like to run for a cause. Perhaps Habitat for Humanity, which is an organization I believe strongly in. But could this really happen for me? We'll see. If I can find a way, I'd love to do this before I kick the bucket!

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 9:57 PM, ,


Treking Across Florida? Reality for Me?
Saturday, September 19, 2009

This morning as I peeled myself out of bed and went for my weekly long run, I couldn't help thinking about my longing for an adventure. I want to do something that is meaningful to myself. Something that is physically exerting, and exhilarating too. I was sick this past week with a fever, and I've been to 3 funerals in the past 2 weeks. I want to LIVE. You know?

I have been tossing the "Trek-across-Florida" idea for a while, and have been researching how some ultra-runners have been training for an event like this. It looks very possible for me. And also, very grueling.

Paul Staso, from P.A.C.E (http://www.pacetrek.com/) runs several ultra-runs for charity each year. He does them solo, and pushes a 67 pound stroller full of his goods and gear across the U.S. I don't have the time or resources for a journey that long, but perhaps it's not so impossible to consider a solo run across Florida while brining a few belongings.

He runs anywhere from 20-30 miles per day, at a 12-14 minute mile. That's not so unbelievable to think about. A brisk 12 miler in the morning, then a pit stop mid-day, before heading back out for another 10-15 miles? Or perhaps running the entire 20-30 miles in the morning, and taking the rest of the day off?

Perhaps I am crazy, and maybe I am talking of disaster. I will keep calculating, planning, and seeing if this is something that I might be able to do.

Labels: , , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 8:48 PM, ,


Got a Crazy Idea
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Okay, I stayed up last night researching a few crazy ideas I have. The one that I am most thinking about is a run "across" Florida. It's not organized by anyone or any organization, but would be a "Sean and Jamie" extravaganza.

The course would start in Pensacola, FL and end in Jacksonville, FL. It would be 350 miles, and I am trying to think of the best way to approach it. I am researching how some of these other distance runners, who've run across the U.S. or the Appalachian Trail, have trained for and attacked a course such as this.

This might not ever hatch and come to be, but I have wanted to take a trek across the state for a little while now. Is it really possible? Perhaps I could run along the Florida trail instead. It stretches from one side of Florida to another.

Or perhaps I could sit home on my duff. I am tired of the marathon ritual. I want a spiritual challenge that makes me feel alive!

Labels: , , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 7:42 AM, ,


Overheated on Hwy 30A
Saturday, August 15, 2009

It is the weirdest thing: It can be dreary, rainny, and cloudy all day, until the moment I decide to head out for a long run. Right now, my face is a lovely shade of purple, and I feel like a Florida runner once again.

I treked across busy highway 98 onto 30A highway and ran on the nice sidewalks. Thank God I brought my camel-bak today. Half way through I stopped at the public access beach entrance and sprayed myself wih the hose lustily, desperately trying to get cool. It helped, but I got a few strange looks from tourists. Ahhhhh, who cares. They expect weirdness on 30A.

Speaking of which, I think it's funny how 30A has been romanticized among the general crowd. I understand that people really love it, but I hate that some people in this area are so desperate to identify with the "hipness" of 30A, turning it into nothing more than a fad. The old school 30A crowd aren't a glamourous bunch, but a group of real living breathing people. They don't try to be hip, they are just themselves. So step off all you wanna-be hipsters! Okay... okay... maybe the heat has gotten to me!

Labels: , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 4:33 PM, ,


A Runner's Midnight High
Monday, August 03, 2009

Went for a short run outside tonight after the gig. It was 11:30pm. Strapped on the FiveFinger shoes, and hit the road with my arm-band GPS, a cell phone, and a small LED headlight. It was a pleasant run. The kind of run that makes me remember why I fell in love with running. As I enter this blog post into the oblivion, where only 2 people might read it (1 of them being me), I am enjoying the too often mis-understood "runner's high."

People sometimes tell me that they have tried to experience the high runners get, but it didn't work out during their 2 tries, and so they gave up.

I think part of the "high" has to do with why the one is running in the first place. If one is running out of compulsion, then I don't think there is going to be any thrill. It will be torture. But if one is running out of a desire to really live, then the run can be filled with nice experiences. I think this all contributes to the resulting "high".

However, there is also an actual feeling that comes physically, at least for me that is. Right now, after my shower, I am feeling like my skin is soft and cleansed from all the sweating. My mood is content. My legs and feet are completely relaxed and there is some mild euphoria. My body feels loose, and my feet are pleasantly worked.

It's a unique feeling all it's own, hard to describe, but entirely unique to running for me. Plain vanilla physical labor never leaves me feeling quite like this. Running alone has this unique feeling that comes with it. Maybe it's the way our bodies have adapted through time. Perhaps this is a trait shared by our ancestors. And perhaps when we run, we are tapping into an acient instinct that releases biological responses that make us feel alive. Really alive. Maybe.

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 10:29 PM, ,


Need Purpose
Friday, July 03, 2009

So I'm having a hard time getting freakishly obsessed with any upcoming marathon that is out there. Therefore, without a plan in the future, I end up floundering.

I really enjoy being on a warpath that leads to the actual event, whatever it is. I plan out long runs on the mental calendar, and start training very methodically. Right now, since I have yet to choose a race, I am just maintaining. Biding time.

I need purpose. If anyone is out there, and has a good recommendation for a FUN race, or a really fun thing to train for, let me know!

I would love to train for the 50 mile run up Mount Cheaha in Alabama, but my only drawback is the poison ivy on the trail. I am deathly allergic! But the Mt. Cheaha race is one of the only ultras that sounds like any fun, this side of the Mississippi. Which brings be to the last point. My GOD, I need to do an ultra!

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

posted by Sean Dietrich @ 9:00 AM, ,