Lace Up Like It's 1995 Week 2: Progress! Ish!

Progress

Week two of my little fitness experiment/fundraiser is closed… 20.30 miles down, 309.70 to go! This week, I logged 10.20 miles, five of them running. I ran five of seven days and clocked in at these times:

4/9 = 7:46/mi

4/10 = 7:39/mi

4/11 = 7:33/mi

4/13 = 7:46/mi

4/14 = 8:01/mi

Average = 7:53/mi, 34 seconds better than last week’s average.

20.30 miles gets me 6% to my miles goal this week. Don’t forget that I will ramp up my mileage over time, so I am actually ahead of my weekly progress goal by 6.30 miles (158%)!

So far, I’ve secured $1,255 ($916 donated, $339 pledged) from 12 donors. This gets me 12% to my fundraising goal. Donations have been incredible but I thought there would be more distinct donors at this point. I have plans to move the needle over time! If you’re reading this…

Give me a hand here!

Dedication

This week’s miles are dedicated to my older middle brother, JP Smock. My primary tormentor, champion, and motivator for all games and physical activities. His way of showing he cares is to challenge you to a game then (try to) beat the pants off you. When I mentioned I was going to do this challenge, he was all in and has been giving me props on Strava every day since. Much appreciated, brother! Also: See you at the 5K race in October!

What’s in the Walkman?

Nirvana’s seminal 1991 album, “Nevermind”. This one did not leave my heavy rotation until 1993. In early 1992, I kept hearing this song on the radio but couldn’t get the name either because they said it before the song played and I had joined in the middle or one of my brothers was talking when the DJ said the band. Anyone remember when we couldn’t look everything up right away? That want to know but being unable to find out? And when someone talked over live radio or TV and you couldn’t pause or rewind anything? Not really the good old days but it built some patience!

When I finally heard the DJ announce the band and the song (Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), I walked out of my bedroom and yelled at my oldest brother, “Hey man, that song is by a band called Nirvana and it’s called something about teenagers and a smell!”

“Come As You Are” sounds like a good philosophy to embrace at this stage in the challenge.

Reflections

I logged faster times without feeling like I was getting faster. So something’s kicking in. I have been a little inconsistent on times, with my worst coming the last day of the week, but am generally better than last week by a good amount. It’s something to watch and explore. I still don’t feel “good” when running but I have leveled my breathing and can see progress on the near horizon. I will probably only feel good about running a mile when I start running 1.5+ daily.

ToolBank Disaster Services Deployment

This week’s feature was on the last ever TDS deployment in July/August 2025 in San Angelo, TX following devastating floods in the Hill Country in Central Texas. Many will likely recall the news coverage of the Guadalupe River rising 28 feet in just 45 minutes early on the morning of July 4th, making safe evacuations nearly impossible. We deployed soon after and got tools on the ground to boost recovery efforts in San Angelo, which experienced the highest per capita damage to buildings, including more than 4,000 residences.