TURKEY DAY!!

So I ran Fast Freddies Five Mile Foot Feast again. I came in 82nd outof 654. I was on pace for a little better than last year, then I hit 4.25 miles. I felt like I was going to puke so I slowed down for about a minute. That F_*&^d me. I came in a minute slower than I had planned. I do believe that it was the Tiramisu I ate really late the night before. Oh Well....... Work is ok. Nothing good. We had a sick person on the freeway this morning. Well got to go.

Be Safe! TTFN!!

http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-img-show?P_ID=&_bqG=28&_bqH=eJxLMs8sL_HKKUz3LozQ9fMLKS4q8K0qMSsOzgi1srQ0sjIytbJyj_d0sXU3AILw8LLICOdsz2S_YjV3z3h3Rx8f16BIXNKe8cH.QSG2nvFunj6u8X6Ovq4I0XgXzyBbx2BnADF2J3Y-&GI_IMAGE_ID=I0000Wqpw3cEiG_o

http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-img-show?P_ID=&_bqG=29&_bqH=eJxLMs8sL_HKKUz3LozQ9fMLKS4q8K0qMSsOzgi1srQ0sjIytbJyj_d0sXU3AILw8LLICOdsz2S_YjV3z3h3Rx8f16BIXNKe8cH.QSG2nvFunj6u8X6Ovq4I0XgXzyBbx2BnADF2J3Y-&GI_IMAGE_ID=I0000OuryHT6pclk

Where is the love?

So.......we haven't done sh*t this month. I know I haven't written in a month but there has been nothing to write about. Do you know that every 7 minutes there is a house fire in the United States. All I am saying is if there is going to be a house fire why can't we have just 1. I don't want anyone to get hurt or lose there lifes most precious things but once in a while something would be appreciated. We have had the usual medical runs, but nothing good. As usual I do nothing all day but station stuff and when I am trying to sleep we get a medical run.
so I ask.............. Where is the love?

Still running. I have started a training schedule. I believe I am going to try the Atlanta Marathon, then 1 month later go for Cincinnati. I have Fast Freddies on Thanksgiving day. I am not looking for any improvement from last year. Mostly because I really haven't spent much time trying to improve my 5 mile time. I have been more focused on my 3.1 mile time. The Polar Bear Grand Prix starts next month. The first race is December 13th with a 4K race then a 4 mile race in January, and ending with a 5K race in February. I was 2nd in my age group and 22nd overall. I am looking forward to those.

My family is coming tomorrow. I am excited as is the rest of my family. Also Spec 4 Sarah Cox is coming home from Iraq tomorrow. I have never met her but we are escorting her from the freeway exit to her home in Rescue 2. Her father wanted us to put a welcome home message on our marquee out front so we did and we offered to escort them home. So we are. My prayers and the prayers of my fellow firefighters here in Georgetown Indiana are with all of those overseas and away from there families this holiday season and everyday. May God Bless you all and keep you all safe. TO ALL Veterans Thank You. From the bottom of My Heart Thank You All.

TTFN!! Be Safe. God Bless.

AHHHH!!!!!!

So...........nothing has been going on here.......nada, nothing, zilch, zippo. I have made a couple medical runs in the middle of the night, but nothing of circumstance. One was a full arrest. We got here back right before the ambulance got there. Last news I had she was doing fine in the hospital. I started teaching a Fire Fighter 1 and 2 class. Also it sounds like I may be teaching an Instructor II/III class in January.

I am starting an EMT-Intermediate class next month. That will be interesting. I should be busy........I may also be working PRN at Washington Co. EMS. Yippee!! No rest for the weary.

Still running...... I have really been working my five mile time. I really want to go under 30 minutes but realistically under 32 minutes would be good. I have been averaging 25 to 30 miles a week lately. I have been alternating between my Mizunos and my Pearls. I like running in the pearls for short faster runs and the Mizunos for the longer runs. The Mizunos support my feet a little better than the Pearls. However, I do feel that the Pearls are a tad more comfortable. I will be running in the 3 race Polar Bear Grand Prix. I ran it last year and came out 2nd in my age group and 22nd overall. I am going to definitely run the Cincinnati Flying Pigs Marathon in 2009 since I couldn't run it this year due to the whole Pneumonia thing. I am considering doing the Atlanta Marathon as well. We Shall SEE!!!!

Well gotta go!! TTFN!! Be safe!

So.....not much going on.

So it has been a busy week. Sunday I was on shift it starte dout quiet but got busy real quick. We had a wind storm. No rain, the sun was out, a lot of wind. The wind literally blew me off of my feet 4 or 5 times that day. There were trees going down everywhere. They were blocking roads hitting people, and coming down on top of cars. We started at 10am with our first run and we finally got back in station at 1130pm. We were running nonstop all day.

I was driving down State Road 64 and a tree branch fell on the engine. It dented the officer (passenger) side of the truck and took out a marker light and one of our strobes.

The whole county was out of power. We got power at home on Tuesday. Thankfully we had a generator to keep the fridge and the deep freeze going. There are still a few places around here without power. We have been doing clean up all week. I finally was able to get around to fixing the shingles and flashing that I lost on the house.

Tuesday B-crew got dispatched to a house fire. The address was right down the street so I responded. Chief asked to stop at the address and check it out. I got there. It was a 2 story, woodframe structure with brick veneer. Nothing showing. I entered the structure to find light smoke and the homeowner panicking in the hallway. I asked the homeowner where the fire was and sent her outside. She said in the kitchen. It turned out to be the vent hood for the stove was on fire. I put it out with an ABC extinguisher (which irritated B-crew). To bad for them. They were cool with it because if I hadn't put it out Chief would have because he arrived on scene right after I put it out. Regardless.......I caught some fire.

Not much else going on................Running is good. I got free shoes from Pearl Izumi. Go to saverun.org Great online community about RUNNING!!! I am not training for anything currently. I had planned on training for a couple different races but I decided to hold of until the colder weather and run some winter races. I have been keeping my milage up and have really started incorporating more tempo runs into my schedule. I am starting to see a differnce in my times. Well time to go.

TTFN!!!

Pictures

So I was thinking that there were no pictures of running or firefighting. So here you go.



Me at the 3 mile mark in the half marathon.

This is when I realized i would beat my goal time

Me at the finish of the half marathon october 2007.

Wreck that tore the mustang in half.
Another angle. (where is the back of the car?)
The Blazer that hit the mustang.
The rear of the mustang.

Teenager took a turn too fast and rolled it into a tree. He flipped 4 times before he hit the tree.
The driver and the passenger (wearing seatbelts) walked away with scratches. No other injuries.
Historic house burned ny the owners for insurance money.

Making entry to a house fire.
We moved to a defensive attack.
Defensive attack.
Total Loss.
Engine 21 at the historic house fire.

Most of these are just some pictures are old i just had on the computer. I will post some more soon.

Still Running

We had a house fire last week. It wasn't too big. the house had a closet fire about 4 days before. Then we got called back out. The house was fully involved when we got there. So it was automatically a defensive attack. Good thing too...........when we got the fire under control we discovered the floor was gone. There was a 10 foot drop to the basement. Regardless we had a good time. We love fires. Not much else going on. We have had the usual med runs and such. We had a medical today..........74 y/o female. COPD, Diabetes, High blood pressure, the usual suspects. When we got there her blood sugar was 360, b/p was 60/palp, respirations 6 and agonal. unresponsive. She was C.T.D. It happens.

Still Running. I am rethinking my choice to run the full marathon in Louisville. There are a couple others I think I might try. I do belive i will run the half in Louisville. I put some gel insoles into my new Mizunos. The make it a little more comfy to run.
Well Back to work.
TTFN

Well.................OK!

So I think I am going to run the Louisville Marathon. That gives me 13 weeks to prepare for it. SO..............Here goes. Anyway.........The new shoes are working out ok. I got them a little dirty last week. Felicia and I went for a trail run in O'Bannon Woods. We got horribly lost. A 4 mile trail run turned into an hour and 45 minutes of walking on, very muddy and yucky poop, horse trails. I wasn't happy. But i should have seen it coming. We can't go into the woods together without getting lost. I can go into the woods by myself for a run or hike and be fine. Oh Well. We did get 2.5 miles on the trail and then when we finally found a road another 1.75 miles on the road back to the van.

Not much going on at work. We had a pregnant female who miscarried and passed-out. I feel sorry for her. We did also have a car go over the gaurd-rail on Corydon Pike (it is steep). No one was in the vehicle though. I thought for sure we would find someone under the vehicle when then pulled it up the hill. Maybe I will get something good on shift today. We are due a house fire or at least a really good MVA.
Be Safe. Be Careful. God Bless.
TTFN!!!!

Switching shoes

Hey there everybody. So I worked on July 4th. We only had 1 run, at 2:15 in the morning. We got cancelled as we were pulling into the neighborhood. I was not a happy camper. Getting woke up in the middle of the night only to get cancelled and still have to write a report sucks.

Anyhow... I went and bought new running shoes today. I was wearing the Brooks Adrenaline series. I bought Mizuno Wave Inspire 2. They fit my foot a little better and support my foot about the same. I haven't heard a lot about the Mizunos so I am a little unsure of the shoes but I guess we will see. I am figuring on finishing the week out with about 20 to 22 miles total.
TTFN!!! Be Safe and Have Fun!

Finally!!

So after 3 shifts of no runs.....I finally got a couple runs. Both runs were medical. 1 was a FDGB (Fall Down Go Boom) the other was an overdose/attempted suicide. Of course both runs were in the middle of the night so I got no sleep. I was bored all day and got no sleep that night. Oh well. A shift had a structure fire at a restaurant with Lafayette F.D. and Greenville F.D. That was last night. I got up to go but by the time I managed to get dressed there were 5 engines on the road. I figured that was more than enough. So stayed back and covered the area.

I did take my 3 boys and my wife's grandma on a medical run the other day. I was picking them up from my brother-in-law's house when we got knocked out on a Heart Attack that was barely a 1/4 mile from where I was. I told grandma to hang on we were going for a ride. We had been to this house before for the same guy having a heart attack. Grandma and the boys thought it was all very exciting. The boys talked about it for a couple days after.

I was so tired from being up all night on the med runs that I missed my sunday run. I was not happy. What could I do though. I could barely keep my eyes open much less go for a long run.
I made up for it today. I ran 6.5 miles this morning then I walked at the zoo all afternoon.

Looking forward to this week........Hydrant testing (Yippee!!.............ugh!), then I have to work on the 4th. Looking forward to fireworks related calls. I think were are grilling out......hamburgers hot dogs, Big fat shrimp, plus the usual french fries, watermelon, and ice cream at Polly's Freeze.

Still looking for donations for Team In Training to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Donate at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ky/chicago08/rfletcher

Have fun!! Be Safe!!!

HEY EVERYONE!!!!!
SO............................................I ran a 10k this morning. The wife ran a 5K at the same time. I am so proud of her. She ran in 25.01. That is 3 minutes faster than she has done in training. She did so good, and her first mile was just over 7 minutes. I ran a slow first mile, but I picked it up miles 2 thru 5. I started my push to early and came slower than I had wanted. Mile 1 - 6:45, mile 2 - 13:32, Mile 3 - 21:00, Mile 4 - 28:05, Mile 5 - 35:01, Mile 6.2 - 45:30. <------See, I blew it. Anyway............I could blame it on lots of different things but it is my own doing. I came in 8th out of 21 in my age group and 35th overall. My wonderful wife came in 4th out of 13 in her age group and 48th overall. Regardless.............We had a good time and all is well.

Not much else going on here I still need donations for Team In Training to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. http://pages.teamintraining.org/ky/chicago08/rfletcher

TTFN!!! Run Hard, Run Fast!!

I know, I know...........

Hey Everyone!!! I know I haven't been very good lately. Sorry.
Well I trained my behind off for the Cincinatti Flying Pigs Marathon...............Then i got pneumonia. I was sick in bed for about a week. I could barley move. It sucked..... Then when I was able to get out of bed I discovered that I had no lung power and I tired easily. After a week I tried to go running. I barley made it a mile. This was 1 week before the marathon. I couldn't run a mile much less 26.2 of them. I still went to Cincinatti with the family to watch the race and to pick up my shirt and the number that I wouldn't be able to wear. The kids enjoyed the trip but it was a little depressing for me.
However.................I am now training for the Chicago Marathon in October. I am also raising money for charity as well. I joined a group called Team In Training. They train people to do endurance events and raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If anyone would like to help out: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ky/chicago08/rfletcher
It has been a good experience so far. I have met some really nice people. Plus it is a really good cause.

Work has been good so far. We have had 8 house fires so far this year. 5 of those have been pretty rockin. I have made all of them. We have had 10 good car accidents with extrication. Also I passed my Advanced EMT-B. I can start IV's, Read Heart rythms from the monitor, and some other stuff. We have had some cool med runs. I have hit all of the IV's I have started so far on the first try. We are also racking up the 10-0's or DRTs (dead folks). We have had more than usual this year. We also had a guy roll his tractor over on himself. It didn't turn out so good. That one was a little rough.......He was still breathing and had a pulse when we got there. He just went down hill to fast and the tractor impeded our ability to help him. By the time we got the tractor off of him it was too late.

June 18th is the one year anniversary of Officer Frank Denzinger being killed in the line of duty. And it is the 1 year anniversary of the 9 firefighters who died in the sofa warehouse fire in Charleston South Carolina. May God Bless All of the Families and Friends involvede in those 2 tragedies.
TTFN

Hello All!!!! Well it has been quite some time since my last post.
Well........ I ran the Half-Marathon. I placed 90th in 1 hour 42 minutes and 54 seconds. I am now trining for the Full Marathaon.....26.2 miles...... I am going to run the Cincinnati Flying Pigs Marathon on May 4th.

We had a structure fire last week. It was a total loss. The house was literally a mile from the road. We had no water source. The drive way was narrow and windy. There was only enough room for 1 tanker at a time. so it was a long night. Plus the temp was 14 degrees out... so everything was freezing. We have had a couple good accidents ith extrication. Also All of the full time guys have gotten our EMT-Advanced certifications. that means we can start IVs and translate heart rythms and manually defibrillate. Well time for my run 9 miles today.
TTFN!!