Drawn & Quartered by Horses Part 2

To read the first part of this blog post:  Click Here

So, what are these passions that are pulling me in differing directions?

As mentioned in this post, one of my newly ignited passions is writing a musical.  I've spent some time conceptualizing the idea for my four-person musical, and it has grown to a place now, where I am very excited about the potential.  I've created four characters and given them each a unique relationship with music as well as with the other characters.  In a way, each of these characters represents a part of me, and each of their relationships represent part of my relationship with Jamie.  These portions of myself and my marriage on many levels are universals, and as such I believe this show will be less plot-driven and more character-driven, with the goal being catharsis.

For Christmas this year, I received a wonderful gift, and prior to my involvement with Godspell, I was spending at least 30-60 minutes daily using this gift.  This gift is one of my other passions pulling me, it's a banjo, and I want to learn to play the banjo.  I've been playing guitar for 19 years now, (my goodness, that's a long time) and I never learned good technique.  As such, my playing is highly limited.  So as I learn the banjo, I am starting over from scratch and focusing on the technique immediately.  The banjo is an instrument that has been experiencing a renaissance in popular music as of late with Sufjan Stevens, The Avett Brothers, and Mumford & Sons.  I am interested in this style, but also interested in the old bluegrass style practically invented by Earl Scruggs.  I would like to spend several hours per week drilling the Scruggs' Three Finger Rolls and getting serious about this instrument.

In addition to wanting to play the banjo and write a musical, I am very interested in continuing writing music in general (outside of the theatrical context).  Though I struggle with lyrics, I can come up with melodies and interesting harmonies fairly well.  I have a lot to say, and hopefully through practice, I will become more skilled at fitting lyrics with my music.  Even so, I was recently tasked with carrying on the leadership of my church band (as our former leader took another job which relocated him out West), and some of the other leaders thought it would be interesting if our band took a focus more to instrumental music, superimposing scripture readings, responsive readings, and prayer.  This fits very well with my writing style, and I can hopefully (along with the rest of my incredibly talented band) create lots of original music for our church.

Speaking of my church, I will be joining them this summer to go on a mission trip to Honduras.  We will be partnering with a group called Mercy International to serve Hondurans who were displaced due to a hurricane (in 1998, and they are still living in "temporary" shacks).  We will be working to build houses and more importantly to build relationships.  This is obviously one of my passions, but the more immediate passion involves this, and that is learning to speak Spanish.  I took three years of Spanish in high school, after which I could only say, "Yo soy la vaca verde," meaning, "I am the green cow."  A couple years back, I started the approach of using listening programs like Pimsleur and Michel Thomas.  I now have some basic language skills.  While I will obviously not be fluent by this summer, I would like to at least be able to hold some basic conversation with people.  (If you would like to support me for this trip, please visit Razoo at this link.)

There's a few other passions that are pulling me, one of which I will be spending more time on and blogging about in the future, which is the fighting of human trafficking.  Also, I want to spend more time with photography (although I am certainly a hobbyist), reading and running, the latter of which I have been able to keep up on somewhat well, and will be dedicating time to this summer, as I train for the Chicago Marathon.  But for now, I am stuck, caring about all of these things and being spread too thin to actually focus on any of them.  I need to make some hard decisions.

Drawn & Quartered by Horses Part 1

Jamie is at a meeting tonight; Afton is in bed, and I'm sitting here on the couch, with the house (relatively) clean, the dishwasher running, and tomorrow's lunch sitting in my white-elephant-gift Chuck Norris lunchbox on the bottom drawer of the refrigerator waiting to be thrown in my bag tomorrow morning, taken to work, and consumed.  My mind bounces from thought to thought through the myriads of passions that I have, trying to decide what to do with the next hour or two to myself.  As I write this blog post, I hold the (probably unrealistic, audacious) goal of reaching some sort of conclusion by the end of my writing; let's see what happens.  My prediction is that Jamie will return prior to my rough draft and first read through, leaving me in the same situation the next time I have time to myself.

I feel as though I'm being pulled in a million different directions; which as I understand, happens to pretty much everybody at some point in their life.  The difference with my predicament, compared to others', however, is that I am being pulled not by responsibilities, external forces or other peoples' requests, but by interests that I have deep passion for.  As I see it, I have one of two choices to make:  1) Devote some attention toward all of my passions, which lets me spend time with all of them, but significantly limits my potential.  2) Devote all the attention toward one or two of my passions, which means I have to completely ignore others.  This is obviously a post-Industrial Revolution, First World problem, yet it's important to me all the same, as I strive to become the Neo-Renaissance Man; and many of these should have a positive impact on others.

"What are these passions?" you ask.

INTERRUPTION:  My prediction was right.  Jamie is on her way home, and there's no way I'll finish this before she gets back.

(I'll talk through these passions in the near future.  Stay tuned!)

(Don't let that sound like I'm disappointed she's on her way back; my passion for my family is much more important than the others I'm trying to decide between.)

Come sing about love!

While I don't want to post about the same thing over and over, I feel a need to follow up to my most recent post on Godspell. We just finished our first weekend, and now have today and tomorrow off. It has been a great run, and I am excited about our 5 remaining performances.  So I want to take this day off and write about 2 things regarding this show.  First, what has been happening with this show, and second, what this show has ignited in me for the future.

I don't know how it happened, but this group of very different people has bonded in a way that I've rarely seen (apart from camp anyway).  Over dinner last night, our director commented on how "tight-knit" this cast has become, and while I agreed with her, it was in this conversation that I realized I really don't know most of the people in this show very well.  Yet I still have that very real sense of bonding and tight-knit community.   

2013 Godspell cast (minus Lisa Jeans who is hiding in the back; photograph from Green Room Photo)

Godspell is a small ensemble show, where pretty much the whole cast is on stage for the whole show, so you don't really get much time to spend backstage socializing.  I replied to our director's comment that I think this cast is close not because we have spent so much time getting to know each other, (because we haven't) but because we have consciously decided to trust each other.  We have let down our guards, made ourselves vulnerable, and accepted each other as we are.  This has led to a great amount of trust that creates a wonderful community and a great show.

This is also one of the most positively affirming groups of people whom I've had the pleasure to work with, and they have left me with a heightened sense of self-confidence.  While I will be happy to have more time with my family and more personal time, I will greatly miss being surrounded by this overwhelmingly uplifting group of people.

The Future
When I ran my marathon, I reached the end and said, "I'm glad I did it, but I have no desire to do it again."  Well, on the ride home, I was already thinking about next time.  (I'm registered for the Chicago Marathon this October; can't wait!!!)  I've had that same experience with this show.  Before we started the run, I thought it was going to likely be  a one-off deal, but now, I am looking toward the future and want to get more involved.

As far as being in shows, I would in a heartbeat audition for Jesus Christ Superstar or Rent.  Although at this point in my life, I would only accept certain roles (Judas or Mark or Roger; probably not good enough to be Jesus) .  I will also likely put my name out there to play in the pit for shows, as a) it's like a 2-3 week commitment, and b) you get paid for it.  What I'd really like to do though, is try my hand at directing music, and potentially some day learn to direct the whole show.  I think since I'm so critical of theatre, I would bring a fairly fresh perspective and do some new things.

I would be excited for any of those opportunities, but what I'm most excited about is that I'm revisiting the idea of writing my own show.  When I was in high school, I was working to write a rock opera, but it never really came to fruition.  Now, I have four fairly solid ideas for shows that I plan to begin writing (one at a time) when Godspell is finished.  While I don't want to give away plot points, the basic ideas are below:

1. A 4-person cast musical about musicians, where all music is "source music" (which in this case will be played by the musicians because they're musicians, as opposed to incidental music, which is more like a film score or a musical where people just sporadically burst into song)
2. A rock opera based on a classic novel (true opera genre, arias, recitative, etc. only utilizing rock music)
3. An experimental 3-act play (non-musical) about war
4. A complete farce inspired by Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (and I mean inspired by, not based on)

 My hope would be over the next year or two to have the first show in a state where I can have a first draft of a script, score, and demo recording.  The goal would be to get these shows produced locally.  I have been creating some premises and outlines for the first show and will likely begin a synopsis in the next few weeks.

Links
As of the writing of this post, you still have 5 chances to see Godspell.  Please see the following links.
For ticket information
Our review from the Central Illinois Live Theatre League
Interview on a local news show
Photos from Green Room Photo

Well you may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer

Throughout much of my high school and community college career, I was heavily involved in musical theatre (In case you're wondering, I spell the building "theater" and the art form "theatre", though these spellings are interchangeable) and I've spent many hours of my life whiling away the time between company or chorus appearances in a variety of "green rooms".  From Gilbert & Sullivan to Andrew Lloyd Weber to The Who, my performances have run the stylistic gamut.  While I have never had a leading role, I have played some principal characters, namely Schroeder in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Marcellus in The Music Man, and the soloist for "We Beseech Thee" in Godspell.

Me as Schroeder in Eureka College's You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

For a span of about 5 or 6 years, musical theatre was my life.  Upon graduating high school, my dream was to go to college to learn how to write musicals.  I even contemplated majoring in musical theatre, until I heard of the "triple threat"; singing, acting, and dancing (one that I'm mediocre at, one that I'm inexperienced with, and one that I'm terrible at, respectively).

Every summer from my Sophomore year in high school through my Sophomore year in college was dedicated to the stage. Then I started working at summer camp, and my summer's passion was shifted in a much different direction.  This shift, over the years, spread into the music I listened to as well, and eventually, I came to the sad realization that musical theatre is hokey.  With few rare exceptions, I lost interest in the genre; even most of the shows that I consider to be better examples, I find schlocky; Rent, Chess, Phantom of the Opera (and don't get me started with Cats).

While it was the music that initially drew me in to musical theatre, it was the lyrics and the cheesy dialog that turned me off.   I think there are still some great shows out there.  Jesus Christ Superstar, for example, which just has an exceptional score and started as a concept album, not a musical; Pippin, which breaks down the fourth wall, and is in a way a parody of musical theatre, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is about musicians.

2002 Cast of Peoria Players Youth Production of Godspell (That's me with the guitar)

While I am not really into musical theatre any more, after a ten year hiatus from the stage, I am rehearsing for a production of Godspell, which is a re-telling of the parables from the book of Matthew.  Godspell is performed by a small ensemble cast, where each parable is acted out as a mini-play.  I found out several months ago that the show was being directed by the same director I was under when I did a youth production of the show in 2002 and music directed by someone I went to college with.  For months I thought about auditioning, because it was such a good experience, when I was in college.  When it came to the week before auditions, I still wasn't sure, but my wife encouraged me to go for it, knowing it would be a pretty big time commitment.

Needless to say, I was feeling pretty rusty after the ten years since my last audition, so I wasn't super confident about being cast in the show.  For my audition, I sang (and accompanied myself on guitar) "Leave" by Glen Hansard from the film Once, that has been recently made into a musical, so it fit with the unwritten rule of singing show tunes for auditions.  After everyone sang, we learned a dance number and performed it as a group.  Let me rephrase that, everyone else learned a dance number, while I pretended to have learned it and just kind of moved around in the back line.  (I am a terrible dancer.)  Finally, we took some time to read from the script, in which we were encouraged to do one of my specialties...use voices.

Knowing that I'm as good at dancing as the Cubs are at winning the World Series (as a Cubs fan, I can make that joke), I still left the audition feeling fairly confident, as the last time I did this show, my ability to play musical instruments was utilized during many of the dance numbers.  So about 24 hours later, I was notified that I was requested for a callback audition.  Callbacks are when the directors bring you back in for a second audition to have another look at you and have you try some more readings and songs from the show to see if you fit what they're looking for.

Many incredibly talented people were at the callback audition, so afterward I left not feeling nearly as confident as I had the night of my first audition.  Later on, however, I found out that I had been cast in the show.  And not only had I been cast, but I am essentially playing the same part that I did when I performed the show in college (really, I play myself, but I have the same solo that I did in college).  This means that I have not worsened with age.  At the very worst, I have remained stagnant!

We have been rehearsing for about 6 weeks now, and we have a very talented cast with some beautiful voices, some great dancers, and some really funny actors.  I've realized some things about myself in the process. While I probably have the best overall understanding of music, music theory, chord structure, and even sight reading, I also probably have the weakest voice.  This is like having the words of a poet with the voice of a mime; it can be very disheartening.  I was thinking that after my weight loss and my new-found athleticism with running, I might be able to be a better dancer than I was when I was younger...nope, I'm still a terrible dancer.  As far as acting goes, it's still too early in the process to be able to tell where I stand; I would like to try a serious play (non-musical) someday.

I've also found that doing this show is taking a ton of time.  With rehearsals (at least) 5 nights a week, I am spending more time on this play than I did for the entirety of marathon training.  I miss spending that time with my wife and daughter, and I also miss dedicating time to my music.  While I enjoy this show quite a bit, it is a big time commitment, and I will likely be very selective should I do more shows in the future.  Despite the amount of time it takes, however, it is a great experience, and I'm glad I decided to audition and can't wait to go into production.

If you would like to see the show, it runs March 15 through March 24, 2013, with tickets going on sale March 4.  More information can be found at Peoria Players Theatre.


Side story regarding my dance skills:
We were learning the choreography for a new dance last night, and I was standing in the front row.  As the director/choreographer walked past me organizing the people in the front, she said, "You know better, move on back."  So I walked back to the second row.  Then as she passed me there, she said, "Uh-uh, back row."  I couldn't help but laugh, and neither could those who heard.  I have no shame in being a bad dancer; in fact, I think it's kind of funny.

The Great Brewmaster's Kingdom

It was about a year ago now that I brewed my first batch of beer.  For Christmas, I had received a home brewing supply kit, and I spent a few weeks reading about the brewing process and contemplating what I wanted to start with.  Then on a bitterly frigid January Sunday, I spent a couple hours outside, making my first batch of American style pale ale over an outdoor propane grill.

 

 

 

After the couple hour process of boiling water, steeping grains, and adding the right mixture of hops at the right time, I cooled my brew (which is called wort in this stage) and pitched (added) the yeast.  This is the moment where fermentation begins, and the wort begins its transformation to beer.  The yeast takes the sugar from the grains and changes it into alcohol and CO2; this process takes several days.  After fermentation is complete, you let your beer age to improve the clarity and the flavor. It then ages longer when you bottle it.

 

Though the winemaking process is a bit different than the beer brewing process, they share several of the same steps, including fermentation and aging for taste.  When Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine at a wedding banquet, he was able to take a process that takes several weeks and perform it instantly.  Not only did he change the water into wine, but he changed water into “the choice wine”. It was so good that the banquet master said to the groom, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”  

 

Jesus’ first miracle may seem to hold less importance than some of his later ones, but essentially they’re all the same.  Jesus transforms one thing into another.  He transforms water into wine, sickness into health, blindness into sight, possession into freedom, death into life.  And he is still doing this today as he transforms doubt into faith, fear into empathy, hate into love, and sin into shalom. But like fermentation, this is taking time.  When the Great Brewmaster’s kingdom comes to earth in fullness, all the transformations will be complete, and we will say as the master of the banquet did, “You have saved the best ‘til now.”

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

This past fall, I spent a few of my 15 minutes of fame as a contestant on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!  If you're not familiar with Wait Wait, you should be.  It's a news-based game show from WBEZ in Chicago, where contestants call in to play one of several games, attempting to win the coveted prize of Carl Kasell's (former NPR newscaster, and current announcer of the show {as if he needs an introduction}) voice on your voice mail. 

I thought I would give it a go, so on November 14, I went to the Wait Wait website and found a "Be on the show" link (Click here to try it yourself).  Figuring that due to NPR's massive popularity amongst the social elite, I would be competing with hundreds of thousands, well, thousands, okay, maybe dozens of other potential contestants, I thought it would serve me well to try and stick out.  In the vein of the show, I tried to include some humor in my message, so I sent the following:

Hello Wait Wait, I would love to play one of the games, or have one of your guests play for me. I'm a relatively new listener to your show, but I've been listening in general for about 30 years. The only thing I've ever won is a Dr. Pepper Huffy bicycle from K-Mart; and I think it's about due time I won something else, like Carl's voice on my answering machine.

My phone number is (309)XXX-XXXX.

Love your show!

Two weeks later, on Wednesday, November 28, I received a phone call while at work from Emily Ecton, one of the show's producers.  She started off by asking me a bit about myself; standard questions like, "Where do you work? What do you do for fun?", the kind of stuff to make sure I can carry a conversation and be understood, and also allow the host and guests to research for jokes.  She then told me that they have a couple of openings for the next night and said I could choose between playing The Listener Limerick Challenge and if I recall correctly Bluff the Listener. 

Bluff the Listener is a game where the three weekly celebrity guests tell stories, two of them made up and one of them true, and if you guess the true story, you win.  That can be pretty tough.  The Listener Limerick Challenge is a game where Carl Kasell reads you three limericks (a 5 line poem a la "Man from Nantucket") with the last word removed, and you have to guess the missing word 2 out of 3 times to win.  I have never missed a limerick listening at home, so I opted for that one.  Emily told me that I would need to have a land line phone connection and be available from like 7:00-9:00.  So I gave her my parents' phone number (as I don't have a land line), thanked her, and it was all set.

As soon as I hung up the phone, I called my wife, whose response was, "Seriously?!  Awesome!  What can you win?" After I told her, "Carl Kasell on my voice mail," she responded with a rather unenthusiastic, "oh." Then I messaged several friends to share my excitement, most of them responding, "What's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me?"  I was super excited, as were the people who had heard of the show, and the next 24 hours seemed to drag.

So the next night, I sat at my parents' house waiting for the phone to ring.  The first call was a telemarketer, calling to do a phone survey.

"Is now a good time to take a survey?"
"No, actually it's not.  I'm waiting for a call from NPR.  I'm going to be on a game show."
"What?"
"I need to keep the line clear; I'm going to be on Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! on NPR."
"When would be a good time to call back?"
"I don't know. I don't live here."

As I sat waiting, I nervously drank probably three or four bottles of water. Needless to say, I was a bit over-hydrated, but I was afraid they would call while I was in the restroom.  So after debating for about 25 minutes, realizing that each passing minute my chances of being called were higher, I brought the cordless phone into the bathroom with me, hoping they wouldn't call mid-pee.  They didn't.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they called and explained to me that I would hear the segments prior to my game, and as soon as Peter Sagel says, "Hi, you're on Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" I'm live and need to say my name and where I'm from.  "If you win, I'll give you a call on Monday to talk about your prize. Good luck!"  I sat in my parents' kitchen listening to Peter and the celebrity guests, including Brian Babylon, Amy Dickinson, and Adam Felber, talk for about 5 or 6 minutes.  (Some of the discussions appeared on the episode the following week)  And then, there comes this magical moment where the voices you hear week after week on the radio, and you have been listening to live for about 5 minutes switch from talking to each other to talking directly to you.

So, Peter talks to me a bit about Peoria and the Asian carp problem we have, then he asks me what I do.  I told him I worked at Caterpillar.  The guests made a few jokes about Cat.  Brian Babylon made a joke about picking up a date in a Caterpillar tractor, and I followed his joke with something along the lines of, "Hey baby, check out the hydraulics on my excavator."  Awkward laughter.  Thank God the good people of NPR know how to edit out lame jokes, because this did not appear on the radio.

Then Carl started in with the limericks.  I got the first one right, no problem.  But then I was cocky.  When the second limerick was read, I completely went blank. I don't mean that I couldn't get it; I mean I had absolutely no idea what Carl had said.  I had him read it again, and he might as well have been speaking Arabic.  So I gave up on that one, hoping to redeem myself on the third.  Luckily I did!  Right after Carl told me I won the prize, they hung up, and my moment in the spotlight was over. Listen to my segment below.


I listened to the show when it aired on Saturday morning, and I was thrilled that they edited out my bad joke.  Then on Monday afternoon, Emily Ecton called me again to tell me about my prize.  She said, "I'll mail you  a CD so that you always have the recording.  So, send me an email with what you want him to say. It's pretty much up to you. Carl's a good sport." Not only do I get Carl's voice, but I get to tell him what to say?  I contemplated for a few days what I would have him say.  My ideas ran the gamut from a personalized limerick to Dr. Dre lyrics.  After going back and forth, I sent off my email and waited.  On Friday, January 18, the CD came, and needless to say, I was happy with my choice. Listen to my voice mail below.


Now that this experience is over, I have decided I would like to complete the NPR triumvirate. Write a story or be interviewed for This American Life, and call into Car Talk before Click and Clack retire. Wish me luck.

Stunted Progress

Well, it's time to finally start posting.

When I was in college, I was a much heavier guy than I am now.  With soda or chocolate milk as my drink of choice, I ate all I could eat daily with our college cafeteria consisting of a buffet.  (All I could eat usually meant as much meat and dessert as I could take.) At the end of my college career, I was working in group homes, where one of the responsibilities was to cook food for everyone in the house.  It was there that I discovered my love of butter.  Every meal was filled with butter, salt, and garlic (still a great combination in moderation).

Right after graduating college, I was at 260 pounds.

Yep, that's me on the right

After graduating and meeting the love of my life, my health became a much more important focus in my life.  So I started making some changes to the way I ate.  I cut out soda, stopped eating until I was stuffed, and started adding healthier options to my diet.  The result of this was a loss of about 40 pounds in a year or so.

Taken in Metropolis, IL June, 2006 and June, 2007 on the road to Bonnaroo

Everyone poured out compliments, "I could hardly recognize you," "You're like a whole new man," "Hey sailor, lookin' for a good time?" well, not the last one.  The thing is, I didn't really notice as the weight was coming off.  I did nothing apart from changing how I ate, and then a year later, I started receiving all these comments.


I felt good about myself.  I no longer viewed myself as really fat, just somewhat fat (which is how I still view myself).  So after about a 1-2 year plateau at 220 pounds(ish), I decided it was time to keep going.  This time I would employ some tools, which would help with the process.

Tool #1 The Daily Plate
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/
This is basically a calorie counter, where you set a goal for how many calories per day you want to consume. As you eat things, you add them from their very extensive database of items (including calories as well as nutritional information) to your daily plate. This will tell you how much you've eaten. I've found keeping track to help exponentially. When I used this, I took one day a week off, where I could eat anything I wanted (Yay gluttony!) What's good about taking a day off is that it keeps your metabolism working, and allows you to not completely deprive yourself of treats (I love restaurants).

Tool #2 One Hundred Push Ups
http://hundredpushups.com/
Pushups are great because they strengthen your core, your arms, and your back. The stronger these things are, (the more muscle you have) the more calories you'll burn while resting. The premise of this program is to take you from as low as like 4 pushups to being able to complete 100 in one sitting (sitting? whatever you cal the pushup position).  This may sound like a gratuitous amount of pushups, but it is definitely achievable.

The combination of these 2 programs took me down to about 195 pounds over the course of another year, which was cause to update my driver's license.

Then, life happened.  I plateaued and stayed between 189 (the lowest I've ever been in my adult life) and 205.  I generally ate around the same things, but wasn't as intentional about tracking calories or whatnot.  However, I didn't gain a bunch of weight due to the below programs.

Tool #3 Couch To 5k
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
I signed up for track in 8th grade, to do the shot put, and I quit because they made me run.  My P.E. teachers accused me of being a smoker when I couldn't run half a mile (the most daunting task in the world).  Needless to say, running was something I was NOT interested in.  Then Jamie signed up for, trained for, and completed the Chicago Half Marathon.  This was such an exciting event, that I decided I wanted to try this running thing out to.  Enter Couch to 5k- A program that will take you from a complete non-runner to someone able to run a 5k (3.1 miles).   This is a very easy program to follow, and I strongly recommend everyone try to get to this running distance and keep it up; although I strongly discourage doing this with thick running shoes (more on this in future posts).

So on Halloween that year, I ran in my first 5k race, The Monster Dash in Chicago along the lake.  It was very challenging at the time and felt like such a long distance, but I completed it.  Then I decided, let's keep this running thing going.  It's fun; it's really good for my health and my mood; why don't I do a marathon?

Tool #4 Hal Higdon Marathon Training Programs
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51135/Marathon-Training-Guide
Slowly building up my mileage, once I reached 6 miles, I began following Hal Hidgon's Novice 1 plan.  I signed up for the Illinois Marathon, and the rest is history.

A great way to map out runs, by the way is the below program:

Tool #4b Map My Run
http://www.mapmyrun.com/my_home/
Pairing this with Couch to 5k or a marathon training program works really well.  It allows you to log not only your miles, but your time as well, so you know how fast you generally run when you sign up for a race.

After completing the marathon, I tapered my mileage, but didn't change my diet, so for the past 2 years or so, I have been right around 200 pounds.  This is still an unhealthy weight for me, so I have a new plan.

Doing a 180
BMI (Body Mass Index) is one means of measuring whether you are at a healthy weight or not (It's not a great measure, because it doesn't account for percentage body fat, but it's better than nothing).  According to the BMI chart, my healthy weight is from  around 150 to around 185.  I have never been in this range, so I have decided to set a goal of getting down to 180 pounds and maintaining it (or re-evaluating that goal when I am there, probably switching to a percentage body fat metric).

I will be combining some of these above tools, and committing once again to only one day per week of not focusing on what I'm eating.  I plan to sign up for a half marathon in March (Rock & Roll in Lexington, KY), and a whole sometime next year (either the Illinois or the Chicago probably).  Last Friday, I was 200 pounds, yesterday, I was 194 pounds.  With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I am hoping to break even.

The goal is to be somewhere between these 2 fellows.

I'll keep you posted.

Have a great Thanksgiving.