Double Digits

The plan has me hitting double digits for the first time this weekend. I know 10 miles is not much for a lot of folks out in the world but it is a big hurdle for me and will be my longest run to date. I do think I ran further at the in-laws house but I can't count that.

The past couple of weeks have been a challenge. My son went back to school and the gym at work is getting remodeled (can't shower) so I have had to run at home. I plan most morning to get up early and run but the Olympics have kept me up late so that never happens. That means I have to run after work and that just sucks. Sammy did ride his bike with me one day this week and that was nice.

Next week things will get back to normal and I can get down to business right before the runs start to get even longer. I never thought that I could run this much but I am and my legs let me know it ever day.

Did anyone watch the long distance swims? Those guys and girls are crazy.


I also turned 39 this past week and with it came the thoughts about age. When I was a kid I thought 40 was old. My dad was surely "older" then me at 39 right? I think I need a BIG race for next year, something to make me feel like a kid again!

I want to marry the Olympics!

That is how I must love the Olympics. Is it just me? Do you feel the emotions that each athlete goes through as they compete? Do you feel the rush of pride when that flag is raised and the anthem plays?

I find myself watching events that I don’t really care about with athletes that I’ve never heard of and I feel a connection. It’s the USA and that’s my team! When the US won the free relay the other night I was out of bed screaming at the TV and fist pumping as if that was my teammate finishing strong. I just love it!

USA

USA

USA

Personal Victory

This weekend had me looking at a 9 mile run on Saturday and a rest day on Sunday. The rest day was going to be no problem but 9 miles is as far as I have ever run in my life. I ran 8 miles last Saturday and had a few things I wanted to change this weekend. Friday afternoon my wife sends me an email asking if I wanted to go visit her parents down at the lake. I said that I did not want to go and we had a lot to do to get ready for Sammy to go back to school. She later called me and informed me that we were going to the lake. I don't know why she even gets input from me sometimes. All I could think about was how this was going to mess up my run. The lake was very hilly and I have failed badly trying to run those streets before.

I got on Mapmyrun.com and started mapping a run. I mapped a run that would take me to the far end of the neighborhhod and back that would be around 9.7 miles. I figured that I could run 9 of it and walk the rest as a cool down. Saturday morning comes and I have a hard time getting up and going. I can’t find any peanut butter for my usual meal and I end up eating a few cookies and drinking half a bottle of PowerAde. I walk out the door and run about a minute up to the first hill and my mind starts telling me to just go home. I stop, turn around and walk about 3 steps and then talk myself back in to running. I’ll just run for a while I say and off I go. Every hill sucked but I just lowered my head and ran. Because I was running out in the country on some small roads I did get some shade but I also “met” a few dogs. One blood hound actually bumped my legs before I even saw him. Most dogs just ran to the road and barked, I said "good boy" and "go home" and I kept on running.

Since I started running again and following this training plan my times have slowly gotten slower and slower. I can run further but slow. With the hills I figured that I would run for about 90 minutes and then I could walk the rest. I hit the halfway point faster then I expected and did not have to walk at all. I was not feeling great but I was not feeling bad. I was just running and that is what I did all the way back home. As I got closer and closer I kept checking my watch because I was way faster then I should be. I got back to the house in under 1:17 (under 8 minute miles). All I could figure was that I must have not been as far as I had thought so I kept on running. I ran loops up and down the street in front of my in-laws house. I figured I would just keep running until I ran for 90 minutes and that is what I did. On about my second loop I could see my son and wife come out of the house, they were coming to look for me. My wife thinks I’m going to drop dead.

I’m at work this morning and mapped the route again, it says 9.7miles! Add the additional 14 minutes and no telling how far I ran. I feel great today not because I ran further then I thought or faster then I expected but because I ran. I wanted to go back to bed but I just put my head down and ran.

How about those USA swimmers last night? I was screaming at the TV. I love the Olympics and get pumped when USA wins.

For your Enjoyment

I had my high school class reunion last weekend and had a blast. We have a Facebook type website set up that people have been posting on for about a month now. In a post about songs I told folks that I just heard Baby got Back (love the song) and got a response saying to look for another version. I finally looked it up today and I almost wet myself. Take a look at the video at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltjbnyvq_SI

Glory Days

I got up Saturday morning and went to the park for a run. It was packed by the time I came rolling in at 7:30am. I had an 8 mile run planned and hoped that I could make it that far because my legs were heavy from the runs earlier that week. I have been sticking to the training plan that I got from Wes and my legs are always sore. I made it through the first 4.4 miles without much pain and stopped to get some water and Gu at the car. I wish I would have packed a towel and fresh shirt because I was soaked with sweat. I really didn’t want to have to stop but I also realized that I need to start messing with food/water combos during the run. I thought I may want to get in the car and go home but I stayed on plan and got back to running. I didn’t have to play many mind games to keep me going because I was passing people the whole time and that kept my mind off the run. I hit 8 miles and still felt good, I could have maybe done a few more miles but I had places to be and the plan was for 8.

I stopped on the way home and got some ice and cold beer. I hurried home and packed my bag. The wife and I were heading downtown to go to my 20th high school reunion. We had planned on meeting some folks by the hotel pool and socialize until party time. After a couple of hours of standing around catching up and drinking too much my legs really started to hurt and I still had a whole night ahead of me. We headed to the room and got ready for the reunion. We ended up being about an hour late and I was not only feeling the pain in my legs but I realized that old me can’t drink as much as high school me.

We got to the reunion and I could see I was not the only one who couldn’t drink like I used to. I toughed it out and had a great time talking, dancing, and catching up with old friends. It’s amazing how no one changes. By the time I got to bed around 4 my legs were toast. We packed up the car the next morning and headed home where I laid around all day (good thing it was my off day). The best part is that I get to do it again next year because my wife is a year behind me.