20 Miles in 10 Minutes

Lake Marguerite, a great way to start our run.

In order to properly train for a marathon at some point one should do at least a few 20 mile runs.  Running that far is certainly a test of your endurance, but it will also give you a chance to see how your body reacts and how you feel at certain parameters, thus it's necessary to help you learn about more than just running and finishing, but how one can properly prepare for all aspects of a marathon.  So join me on a 20 mile course that goes around my neighborhood in Scottsdale and you too can say you ran 20 miles.



First things first, about 2 hours before starting lets eat a banana, 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter and drink some coffee.  You need some energy for the later stages of the run and if you run first thing in the morning, you haven't consumed anything in many hours, so you need to eat something easily digestible.



Make sure our water bottle is filled and ready to go.

With our iPod fully charged and attached, follow me.

The first part of our run will take us along Lake Marguerite, here's a picture of the northside of the lake.

Watch out for fallen oranges and lemons on the sidewalk, they are everywhere.

The Saguaro Cactus as we near, appropriately named, Cactus Rd.

A string of pine trees along the golf course, just like in Northern Michigan.

A view down Cactus Rd. heading West.

After leaving my home, we went around Lake Marguerite on the trail, onto Hayden Rd. and North to Cactus Rd.  Congratulations, you've just run 3.5 miles!  That didn't feel so bad, did it?  When you are running a long distance its important to give yourself checkpoints to help inspire yourself and give you something to look forward to.  Now as a reward for going 3.5 miles, let's turn on our iPod.


Smashing Pumpkins, "Cherub Rock", a great song that will surely keep us energized.

 One of the coolest things about living in Scottsdale is that there is so many different types of terrain and scenery.  Most of Scottsdale was ranches and farms before it was developed in the late 50's and 60's so there are still lots of areas where you can have horses, right in the city limits.  About a mile down Cactus Rd. when we cross Scottsdale Rd., we get to run on the horse trail, right alongside the road.

A horse trail, right in town!

This horse, ironically name "Kitty", always comes to the fence when she sees me running by.

After a mile or so on the horse trail we head South on 64th St.  We've now run about 5 miles, only 15 more to go!


The only school we will pass on the run.  Notice they are appropriately nicknamed the Stallions as we are in ranch territory and they are promoting a run!



Being Catholic, I always give a quick sign of the cross when I pass Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.

With the mountains looming in the back we are getting close to Paradise Valley, an adjoining suburb.  And I should say its appropriately named, as the mountains form a valley around it and it is always a few degrees colder and when you are running it is noticeable.

With the mountains in sight, we head south, almost 10 miles in.

Only one way to go and one way to get there, keep running.

Foliage in Paradise Valley, it's not all desert out here.

As we get close to half way, what's on the iPod now?

One of my favorite bands, Foo Fighters and "Rope".

Before we leave Paradise Valley we have to go up our only hill on this course, don't worry it's only about 1/2 mile long.

A quick turn onto Indian Bend Road and we run past one of the most iconic and heavily climbed mountains in Phoenix, Camelback Mountain.  When I climbed it we went from left to right and then back, it took about 3 hours.  On the way down I passed Kirk Gibson.



With the Camel's head on the right and the two humps, it looks like a Camel, doesn't it, sort of?

 When we run past Camelback Mountain we are now 10 miles in, half way.  We've been running for about an hour and 15 minutes, still feeling good?  Me too, let's finish the second half strong.  As we head down Indian Bend Road we pass one of my favorite places, Blue 32 Sports Grill.  They have so many tv's you can literally get one to yourself and watch whatever game you want.  I've watched CMU football and basketball here as well as lots of MSU games and every time someone has visited me I've taken them here.

The highly recommended Blue 32, often visited by myself and Kurt Warner.  Sometimes I feel like "Norm" when I go there.

The 5 horses along the Silverado Golf Course, one of probably 10 courses at least that we will pass.

A quick pass of Railroad Park.  They do an incredible job of lighting of the park at Christmas.

Grass, it's not that uncommon out here, at least on this side of Phoenix.

We now head down Scottsdale Road into town, Old Town.  One of the coolest places you can ever visit; with incredible and plentiful restaurants and great night life, it's always lively.

If you ever get to Phoenix you have to visit Old Town Scottsdale.

I have to give a shout out to Majerle's.  After all, we all know where Thunder Dan went to college.

Camelback High Rise, you can see it for miles, when you are running on the canal.

Past the high rise and onto the Canal with the McDowell Mountains to the north.

The canal stretches over 25 miles across the Phoenix Valley and it's great for running because you go from pavement/sidewalk to hard packed trail.  A change of terrain is helpful on a long run, anything to mix it up a bit.  Lots of people walking, running and biking so having interaction with others helps too.  Besides, while we are on the canal it's time to re-energize.

13 miles in, it's time for a power bar gel.  Take it while we are running with some water over the next 1/2 mile.  The instant calories once digested will provide much needed energy, helpful for the last 4-5 miles.

After 2-3 miles on the canal we turn onto McDonald Rd. before hooking back onto the canal for the stretch run. As we turn onto McDonald, let's see what's on the iPod now.



Rage Against the Machine, "Killing in the Name of".  A powerful song, it definitely will keep you going.



On McDonald Rd. we pass the largest set of dog parks I've ever seen.  Always fun to run by and see the dogs at play.



We turn off of McDonald onto Pima then back onto the Canal.  The end is within sight.



We jump off the Canal right by the Sole Sports running store and we start heading for home.

We turn north onto Hayden Rd., only a few miles left, almost there!

We've made it back home to McCormick Ranch, time to finish strong, don't let up.

We run past all the palm trees, and the home of Charles Barkley, on the final mile.  I know you're tired, but it's all mental at this point you can make it.

We make our last turn onto the trail along the McCormick Ranch Golf Course.  This is a shot of their island hole.

What final song on our iPod will bring us home.....

Really, was there any doubt?  This song always does it.



Around the lake and 2 hours and 40 minutes later, we're there!

You just ran 20 miles, only 6.2 more and you've run a marathon!  That wasn't so bad was it?

After a long run, it's time to replenish the system and Butters is right across the street and never disappoints. The banana-nutella crepes are a personal favorite.

20 miles is a long ways to run, heck it takes a bit of time in a car, but there comes a point when it's mind over matter or stupidity.  Which reminds me of the first time I ever ran 20 miles.  I did it, really felt good when I was done, no pain, tired but not exhausted.  I cleaned up and went out to eat, to replenish those calories and feeling proud of myself(maybe too proud), I told my waitress that I had just run twenty miles to which she replied, "Why?  That sounds like an awful thing to do.".  I was speechless and my ego was properly put back in its place. Of course she was right, you don't run 20 miles for fun, just for training for a marathon, unless of course you are into doing "awful" things.  But you just ran 20 miles in 10 minutes or however long it took you to read this and at least the scenery was good, wasn't it?

Anytime you want to join me in AZ, just let me know, we don't have to run, I do have a car....

The Baddest Band in the Land: Guns N' Roses

The original five, Duff, Slash, Axl, Steven, Izzy.

When I was in high school, Guns N' Roses burst onto the music scene and almost instantly I became a rabid fan.  With their first single release of "Welcome to the Jungle" they could only get moderate air play on MTV at the time, a time when MTV actually played videos.  But once "Sweet Child O' Mine" hit, you couldn't turn on MTV or any modern rock radio station without hearing it all day long.  Their album "Appetite for Destruction" did just that, it created destruction across the music scene bringing hard rock to the masses and pushing Hair Metal out the door.  They became notorious for many reasons good and bad and although I didn't advocate or engage in any activities most of their fans did, I loved the intensity of the music, the passion with which it was sung and the raw power, the aggressiveness, the imperfection and the attitude with which they played.  As a band they didn't care who liked them or hated them, they knew they could blow the doors off any audience, especially live. Their follow up albums "Use Your Illusions I & II" were huge, sold millions and millions and launched them into rock and roll history.  Then, not unlike most bands, infighting, road fatigue, too much success too soon and differing opinions on direction caused them to break up in the mid 1990's.

One of the best selling albums of all-time.  26 years later it still rocks!

During those years I was fortunate enough to see them a few times; a mega show with Metallica at the Silverdome where each band played over 3 hours, an engrossing show with tons of theatrics at the Palace of Auburn Hills and subsequently a follow up show at the Palace that was stripped down completely, just the band, their instruments and a few lights-literally a club show in a huge arena.  My brother Jeff was with me at that show and he'll attest to how they did indeed, blow the doors off that night.

After breaking up there was always clamoring and hope that they would somehow reconcile and get back together, but as long as Axl Rose was in charge, it was never going to happen.  But he owned the name and he is the voice and he continued to maintain a version of GNR, eventually releasing the long awaited "Chinese Democracy" album, but it sadly tanked on the charts.  But that didn't stop him from touring with his new incarnation and last fall they announced a month long set of shows at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas.  Being only a few hours away I thought I should check them out.  Sure it wouldn't be the same as seeing them 20 years before, but with almost any band the lead singer has a signature sound that can almost never be replicated, so as long as Axl was leading the charge, I decided I'd go, I knew it wouldn't be the same but after all this could be my last chance to ever GNR live.

Let's get ready to rumble!  I was in Vegas after all.

I should quickly state, that since I was going to drive to Las Vegas I decided to pass through Bullhead City to spend the day betting on football with my Uncle Al.  If you read my earlier blog, you know my penchant for betting.  After arriving in Bullhead and driving over the river to the casinos in Laughlin, I spent the day watching a lot of football and making a lot of bets and eventually ended up ahead enough to pay for my concert ticket and trip.  I wish every weekend was this successful.

Based on advice from a friend I bet on Kent St., one of my many winners that day.

I then drove straight to the Hard Rock ready for the show.  I should state the same friend that gave me advice on betting on Kent St. had also hoped to fly out for the concert and almost did, but it didn't work out and I didn't want to miss my chance and still went on my own.  Once I got to the Hard Rock the place had basically turned into the GNR Casino. Since they were playing there for a whole month the casino was filled with memorabilia, signs and posters everywhere, they renamed the street the Casino is on to Paradise City Way and they even had GNR poker chips.  As a big fan, it was very cool and certainly set the stage.  The venue, The Joint, is only about 4K seats so being able to see them in such a small setting was something I was really excited about.  I knew it wouldn't be the same as it was originally, but I was still hyped.  I had bought a general admission ticket, which turned out to be on the floor and since I was there early, I was able to be right up next to the stage, something I never expected.

The Hard Rock Casino became the Guns N' Roses Casino.

The opening band was Filter and they took the stage right on time at 10 p.m.  They played their set including their radio hits, "Hey Man Nice Shot" and "Take a Picture", both of which had massive radio play during their day.  They played for about an hour, just enough to warm up the crowd, then they moved on as everyone was ready for the main event.  Back in the 90's GNR was notorious for not taking the stage for hours between the opening band, in fact at the mega show with Metallica I seem to remember waiting at least 2 hours before they finally came on stage.  But part of the promotion for the Hard Rock shows stated that they would take the stage "on time", whatever that meant. But after only about 30-40 minutes after Filter left the stage, here they came bursting out playing the title track from "Chinese Democracy" before bleeding into a deafening kick-ass rendition of "Welcome to the Jungle" and then a classic fan favorite, "Its So Easy".  Sure it wasn't the same group of 5 that began 25 years earlier and certainly time had aged Axl and his voice, but hearing those last two songs and feeling the intensity and emotion with which they played them, it was almost like a time warp and it certainly served notice that this concert was indeed going to be epic.


As the band was taking the stage the anticipation was high.

They tore through song after song, playing all the classics from Appetite and the Illusions albums while mixing in a few new ones from Chinese Democracy, just the right balance of new and old.  They even played a few songs from their indie EP, Live Like a Suicide, before Appetite, songs only hard core fans would recognize.  I loved every second of it.  Being that close to the stage was surreal and wasn't nearly as overbearing, from a sound stand point, as I had expected.  Everyone on the floor was having a great time and The Joint was definitely rockin'!!!

I was literally this close, it was crazy!

They played for 3 and a half hours, jam after jam, with a few guitar solos to give Axl's voice a break.  But to hear him screeching and screaming, that signature sound, certainly some songs have passed his voice by, but most of them, he was right there, bringing it home just like he did years before.  For any true fan of GNR you would not have been disappointed.  Would it have been better to have Slash, Duff, Izzy and Steven there instead, of course.  But time changes everything and since that's never going to happen, I wasn't going to let it ruin my night or my thoughts of the band, just enjoy it for what it is.

Just a little Patience!

When they came back out for their encore they played "Patience" before closing with the epic, "Paradise City".  A song that still brings it all these years later.  There are probably a few songs from bands for everyone that speak to them or have an impact on them and this one still does it for me, every time.  In fact on one of my long runs recently, after running about 16 miles with 2 to go, I was really tired and just hanging on when Paradise City came on my iPod and I literally got goosebumps hearing the intro. That song drove me the last 2 miles, no question.  It's just good hard, in-your-face, rock and I love it!  Overall it was a great show and I am so glad that I went, even though I had to go alone.  It may be the last time I ever see my favorite band play live, no matter what incarnation they are now or in the future.  Time moves on for everyone and everything  But for one night, in Las Vegas, Sin City was just that and after a day of gambling, betting and jamming to hard rock, it was a night to remember.  And besides living in Scottsdale, I do live in Paradise City!

My old posters still hanging proudly in my garage.