So I was talking to my friend Steve, who teaches in the classroom next door to mine. He asked how training was going, and I said, "Hell, the race is next week. If I haven't finished training by now..." And he responded, "So the hay is in the barn, huh?"
I love the South for crap like this. I mean, is there a better analogy for being finished with something, and just waiting to enjoy the fruits of your? This is easily my second-favorite Southerism, right behind something that is "so good, it'll make a train take a dirt road."
And yes, I shall THOROUGHLY enjoy my 13.1 miles this Saturday. I WILL hurt, and I WILL be in pain afterward, but the best things in life require sacrifice. Speaking of which...
Team Tyler is DOMINATING the fundraising goal. Then again, the Captain is doing pretty well, and no, Kristin, Derek Jeter did not donate. I'm over $2,500, and the team is over $6,000!!! To quote the creepy guy dressed like a leprechaun from Beerfest, "Y'all know what that means..."
I'll be going bald, as of Thursday. Shaved bald, since I had some people actually complain that last year's zero-guard cut was too long. SERIOUSLY?!? Like, 3 days of growth for most people, too long, huh?
Just for this, I am looking for Christmas-themed temp tats, for the dome. I'm actually pissed that I can't find a string of Christmas lights. Online is NO help, if you can believe it. Perhaps a temp tat on the back of my head that says, "Your ad here" or something. "Space available" would work, but the quick-witted amongst us would most likely inquire if the space in question was exterior, or interior.
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I Hate Runners
Part of what keeps me sane as I do my Saturday morning long training runs is my ability to create what I call my "Mittyian" state of mind. Yes, the music helps (for the most part), but my imagination helps a bunch. I couldn't tell you how many last-second jump shots, bottom of the ninth home runs, or other amazing feats I have "accomplished" while running. The other thing I do is try to come up with ideas for what to write on the blog. Which brings me to mile 9 of today's run...
I hate Runners. Hate them with the intensity of 47 white-hot suns. Why 47? Because 48 is too many. Now, before you start crying out "but YOU are a Runner! You wake up early to RUN!!!" allow me to draw two subtle, but important, distinctions:
1. Runners have running outfits. That color coordinate. From the same brand as the shoes they are wearing.
I run, so I have running shoes, and other assorted items that are in the category of "running gear" but make me look dressed in, to quote Kurt Vonnegut, "Halloween and hardware." I mean, for that Urbanathlon, I had an outfit that would earn me top billing on peopleofwalmart.com had it not been a race. Royal blue UnderArmor compression shirt, gray t-shirt over it, navy blue shorts, black UA compression "running pants", white socks/shoes, a gray hat (backwards, natch) and purple and white football gloves. "Ladies and gentlemen, next on the runway, from the Stevie Wonder collection..."
2. Runners have form. Posture. Dare I say, grace.
At mile 9 of this morning's run, I saw a Runner on the street. These people are the reason I try to do my long runs before 8 AM. She was bopping along, back straight, knees high, perfect foot placement.
I looked like a 3-day old giraffe crossed with a zombie clydesdale from a George Romero movie.
I hate Runners.
Though it is nice to finish that 12 mile run, and hear the Nike Plus feature on my iPod tell me that I had burned about 1,500 calories. Basically, I could DOUBLE recommended caloric intake, and break even. Especially since my house has a number of mature trees. 8 contractor bags of leaves & sticks later...
"I think I will have dessert, thank you."
"Would I like another beer? Why yes, yes I would."
Remember, folks, God didn't give us mountains to set up obstacles. He gave them to us to each us to climb.
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
I hate Runners. Hate them with the intensity of 47 white-hot suns. Why 47? Because 48 is too many. Now, before you start crying out "but YOU are a Runner! You wake up early to RUN!!!" allow me to draw two subtle, but important, distinctions:
1. Runners have running outfits. That color coordinate. From the same brand as the shoes they are wearing.
I run, so I have running shoes, and other assorted items that are in the category of "running gear" but make me look dressed in, to quote Kurt Vonnegut, "Halloween and hardware." I mean, for that Urbanathlon, I had an outfit that would earn me top billing on peopleofwalmart.com had it not been a race. Royal blue UnderArmor compression shirt, gray t-shirt over it, navy blue shorts, black UA compression "running pants", white socks/shoes, a gray hat (backwards, natch) and purple and white football gloves. "Ladies and gentlemen, next on the runway, from the Stevie Wonder collection..."
2. Runners have form. Posture. Dare I say, grace.
At mile 9 of this morning's run, I saw a Runner on the street. These people are the reason I try to do my long runs before 8 AM. She was bopping along, back straight, knees high, perfect foot placement.
I looked like a 3-day old giraffe crossed with a zombie clydesdale from a George Romero movie.
I hate Runners.
Though it is nice to finish that 12 mile run, and hear the Nike Plus feature on my iPod tell me that I had burned about 1,500 calories. Basically, I could DOUBLE recommended caloric intake, and break even. Especially since my house has a number of mature trees. 8 contractor bags of leaves & sticks later...
"I think I will have dessert, thank you."
"Would I like another beer? Why yes, yes I would."
Remember, folks, God didn't give us mountains to set up obstacles. He gave them to us to each us to climb.
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The House of Pain
Sigh...so my big sister is trying to shame me back into blogging. The problem with this blog, as I see it, is the problem with many blogs. Bloggers essentially boil down to "idiots with internet access and the ability to hunt & peck", though I touch type, thank you. I must also admit, it's a bit of an ego shot when you know the only people reading this are doing so out of some warped sense of familial loyalty.
ANYWAY...
I officially feel like the dorky cyclist from the Visa "superfreak" commercial...jamming away to "Barbie Girl" for the 3rd time this week did me in. I also need to rededicate myself to the workout portion of my training. I'm running just fine, but starting to feel the "dead legs" again...though maybe that's because I have NO sense of pace, and thus my midweek "training" runs usually clock in at 7:45 per mile for a 4-4.5 mile run. Dumbass, slow down! It's gotten to the point that songs like "All the Single Ladies" are welcome. I wish you could somehow plug in to whatever a person who walks by is listening to, for like, 5 seconds. It would be interesting to hear what people are "tuned out" to on the road, trails, treadmills, etc.
I'm cooking up a "reverse challenge" for all my lovely donors out there...or at least the ones that I think will read my e-mails. So the sibs, mom, Aunt Joanne, Matt, Molly, maybe Karyn and Patti, be on the lookout for some interesting "offers" in the near future. I also have a "special surprise" in store, just in case I make it to my goal and have to shave my head again this year. Apparently, last year's cut wasn't "short enough" for some folks at CBHS, so I'm going to have to break out the Edge Gel and the Gilette Sensor, I guess.
'til Tuesday (weird name for a band, that)
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
ANYWAY...
I officially feel like the dorky cyclist from the Visa "superfreak" commercial...jamming away to "Barbie Girl" for the 3rd time this week did me in. I also need to rededicate myself to the workout portion of my training. I'm running just fine, but starting to feel the "dead legs" again...though maybe that's because I have NO sense of pace, and thus my midweek "training" runs usually clock in at 7:45 per mile for a 4-4.5 mile run. Dumbass, slow down! It's gotten to the point that songs like "All the Single Ladies" are welcome. I wish you could somehow plug in to whatever a person who walks by is listening to, for like, 5 seconds. It would be interesting to hear what people are "tuned out" to on the road, trails, treadmills, etc.
I'm cooking up a "reverse challenge" for all my lovely donors out there...or at least the ones that I think will read my e-mails. So the sibs, mom, Aunt Joanne, Matt, Molly, maybe Karyn and Patti, be on the lookout for some interesting "offers" in the near future. I also have a "special surprise" in store, just in case I make it to my goal and have to shave my head again this year. Apparently, last year's cut wasn't "short enough" for some folks at CBHS, so I'm going to have to break out the Edge Gel and the Gilette Sensor, I guess.
'til Tuesday (weird name for a band, that)
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Urbanathlete - Thug Life!
I was up in the homelands last weekend, hanging out with a wonderful hostess (my big sister, Kristin) and running the Men’s Health Urbanathlon. The “urbanathlon” is an 11.76 mile race with 6 “obstacles” (can’t get John Tuturro out of my head) to negotiate. And let me tell you, there was some negotiation going on between me and a higher power there. Here’s the rundown…
PRERACE
Kristin agreed to drive with me to the race, which took place between Grant Park and Lake Michigan…in late October…starting at 8 AM. TROOPER! The staging area was, well, I should have anticipated the mud in “Lower Hutchinson Field”, but missed the memo. At 7:30, the freezing rain started…are you KIDDING ME?!? Luckily, by start time, the wind was gone, and the sun was out. This was a sign.
LEG 1
Apparently, I could have conned two friends into running the race as a “relay team”. Man, I need to do more research on these races. Leg 1 went from Grant Park to Navy Pier. Immediately after the start, on Jackson between the Art Institute and Grant Park, I saw like 10 guys dart off the street, into the park. “Hey, no cheating!” Then I noted that each gent stopped immediately before a tree…oh. I’m sure the art students got some interesting images that morning.
In order to get to Navy Pier, one must cross the Chicago River. No big deal, if we were on the pedestrian section of the bridge, which is covered by giant composite plates. Unfortunately, the run TO Navy Pier was in the lanes for northbound traffic. Basically, a drawbridge with the metal grates that make the weird sound when you drive over them, and try to push your car sideways every second.
At this point, I must make two things clear:
1. I am morbidly afraid of outdoor heights.
2. I hate bridges.
I looked down, THROUGH THE FLOOR I WAS RUNNING ON, to the murky depths of the river, far below. Pace increased exponentially.
At Navy Pier was the first obstacle, the “tire challenge.” This was 5 sets of tires set out like in every football practice drill, except at the end of each set was a monster truck tire, on its side, that I had to jump over. I discovered that the tires are further apart than I assumed they would be, and that monster truck tires should not be jumped OVER, but rather ONTO and then down off of, lest one bang a knee against the solid rubber of the tire.
LEG 2
At this point, we are running down Lake Shore Drive, on the sidewalk closest to the water. I made a devil’s bargain with myself that, from now on, any runner passing me was part of a relay team, and had not been running since the start line. Oh, one problem with that: The organizers decided that every single “solo woman” category runner should start, regardless of fitness level, in the wave BEHIND mine.
So now I’m being chased by pissed-off aerobics instructors. Perfect. I heard one guy say to a buddy, after being passed by a woman, “Are you gonna take that?” To which the buddy responded, “Yep.”
This leg took me from Navy Pier to the 31st Street Beach. I’ll pause while the native Chicagoans process that distance (about a mile south of McCormick Place). Included in that distance was the second obstacle, the “monkey bars.” Just like they sound, yep, the old playground implement. Luckily, I borrowed some football gloves from a student, and the palms/fingers were tacky (I’ll never understand how NFL players miss tackles wearing these things, they are like Gorilla Glue), so the obstacle was no big deal. However, I did not realize how far the turnaround point was from Soldier Field, so I spent most of the next 2 miles thinking, “Damn, where’s the turnaround?”
LEG 3
Leg 3 is the most obstacle-intensive, with a total of 4 different obstacles, the first being the “Marine hurdles.” Think of a foot-wide piece of wood, horizontal and 5 feet off the ground. Climb over this, run ten feet, jump over a second, run ten feet, jump over another. Oh, and the race map fails to mention this, but this obstacle is literally ON the beach. So at mile 7 I’m now running through SAND?!? GOOD TIMES! After this, it’s a beautiful run along the lake back to Soldier Field. For the obstacle everyone’s been waiting for. A 1-mile run, inside Soldier Field, and most of the mile is VERTICAL. Stadium steps. 563, according to the website. Unfortunately, it was so backed up, most runners didn’t get to run all the stadiums. I think I ran most of mine, because I just refused to NOT run the hardest obstacle, and so ignored a race worker who told everyone I was with, “If you’ve run a stadium, go on!” The map said go up a couple times, so I did. Soldier Field is, um, really, really TALL. Like “WHERE IS THE TOP?!?!?” tall. Oh, and steep.
After that, it’s a scenic (did I mention there was no wind and sunshine the WHOLE RACE?) jaunt around the Shedd Aquarium, back into Grant Park for the final two obstacles: The “taxi hurdle” and the “wall.” Sitting about 30 yards before the finish line were two yellow cabs, parked bumper to bumper, front touching. This was pretty straightforward: Jump over between the windshields. Most runners THINK that by this point, “I’ll just go all Dukes of Hazard and slide across.” We forget two things: One, since many runners jump ONTO the hood of the taxis, there was a huge dent in the hood, so sliding would have probably broken a hip, and two, I was 30 yards from the finish line, and on PURE adrenaline. I jumped straight up onto that hood, and down, to see the final obstacle: an 8-foot wall.
And a poor runner hanging from the wall like 200 pounds of laundry. Now, race rules say “No outside help,” but also specifically say, “Runners can help each other”, so I jump out of “line” and help dude over the wall. On my way back, the guy in front of me looks up and says, “Um, can I get a boost too?” HELL YES. Then I jump up (me like adrenaline), over, down, and FINISH!!!!!!
I ended up in the Top 20% of all finishers (1,019 out of over 5,500), as well as Top 20% for my age group. My adjusted time for the race was like 1:38:00, since my wave started 6 minutes after the first wave.
I'll chat more about my half-marathon training next time, as well as the list you've all been waiting for...songs since last post I've been asked to download (let's just say I have evil, evil relatives)
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
PRERACE
Kristin agreed to drive with me to the race, which took place between Grant Park and Lake Michigan…in late October…starting at 8 AM. TROOPER! The staging area was, well, I should have anticipated the mud in “Lower Hutchinson Field”, but missed the memo. At 7:30, the freezing rain started…are you KIDDING ME?!? Luckily, by start time, the wind was gone, and the sun was out. This was a sign.
LEG 1
Apparently, I could have conned two friends into running the race as a “relay team”. Man, I need to do more research on these races. Leg 1 went from Grant Park to Navy Pier. Immediately after the start, on Jackson between the Art Institute and Grant Park, I saw like 10 guys dart off the street, into the park. “Hey, no cheating!” Then I noted that each gent stopped immediately before a tree…oh. I’m sure the art students got some interesting images that morning.
In order to get to Navy Pier, one must cross the Chicago River. No big deal, if we were on the pedestrian section of the bridge, which is covered by giant composite plates. Unfortunately, the run TO Navy Pier was in the lanes for northbound traffic. Basically, a drawbridge with the metal grates that make the weird sound when you drive over them, and try to push your car sideways every second.
At this point, I must make two things clear:
1. I am morbidly afraid of outdoor heights.
2. I hate bridges.
I looked down, THROUGH THE FLOOR I WAS RUNNING ON, to the murky depths of the river, far below. Pace increased exponentially.
At Navy Pier was the first obstacle, the “tire challenge.” This was 5 sets of tires set out like in every football practice drill, except at the end of each set was a monster truck tire, on its side, that I had to jump over. I discovered that the tires are further apart than I assumed they would be, and that monster truck tires should not be jumped OVER, but rather ONTO and then down off of, lest one bang a knee against the solid rubber of the tire.
LEG 2
At this point, we are running down Lake Shore Drive, on the sidewalk closest to the water. I made a devil’s bargain with myself that, from now on, any runner passing me was part of a relay team, and had not been running since the start line. Oh, one problem with that: The organizers decided that every single “solo woman” category runner should start, regardless of fitness level, in the wave BEHIND mine.
So now I’m being chased by pissed-off aerobics instructors. Perfect. I heard one guy say to a buddy, after being passed by a woman, “Are you gonna take that?” To which the buddy responded, “Yep.”
This leg took me from Navy Pier to the 31st Street Beach. I’ll pause while the native Chicagoans process that distance (about a mile south of McCormick Place). Included in that distance was the second obstacle, the “monkey bars.” Just like they sound, yep, the old playground implement. Luckily, I borrowed some football gloves from a student, and the palms/fingers were tacky (I’ll never understand how NFL players miss tackles wearing these things, they are like Gorilla Glue), so the obstacle was no big deal. However, I did not realize how far the turnaround point was from Soldier Field, so I spent most of the next 2 miles thinking, “Damn, where’s the turnaround?”
LEG 3
Leg 3 is the most obstacle-intensive, with a total of 4 different obstacles, the first being the “Marine hurdles.” Think of a foot-wide piece of wood, horizontal and 5 feet off the ground. Climb over this, run ten feet, jump over a second, run ten feet, jump over another. Oh, and the race map fails to mention this, but this obstacle is literally ON the beach. So at mile 7 I’m now running through SAND?!? GOOD TIMES! After this, it’s a beautiful run along the lake back to Soldier Field. For the obstacle everyone’s been waiting for. A 1-mile run, inside Soldier Field, and most of the mile is VERTICAL. Stadium steps. 563, according to the website. Unfortunately, it was so backed up, most runners didn’t get to run all the stadiums. I think I ran most of mine, because I just refused to NOT run the hardest obstacle, and so ignored a race worker who told everyone I was with, “If you’ve run a stadium, go on!” The map said go up a couple times, so I did. Soldier Field is, um, really, really TALL. Like “WHERE IS THE TOP?!?!?” tall. Oh, and steep.
After that, it’s a scenic (did I mention there was no wind and sunshine the WHOLE RACE?) jaunt around the Shedd Aquarium, back into Grant Park for the final two obstacles: The “taxi hurdle” and the “wall.” Sitting about 30 yards before the finish line were two yellow cabs, parked bumper to bumper, front touching. This was pretty straightforward: Jump over between the windshields. Most runners THINK that by this point, “I’ll just go all Dukes of Hazard and slide across.” We forget two things: One, since many runners jump ONTO the hood of the taxis, there was a huge dent in the hood, so sliding would have probably broken a hip, and two, I was 30 yards from the finish line, and on PURE adrenaline. I jumped straight up onto that hood, and down, to see the final obstacle: an 8-foot wall.
And a poor runner hanging from the wall like 200 pounds of laundry. Now, race rules say “No outside help,” but also specifically say, “Runners can help each other”, so I jump out of “line” and help dude over the wall. On my way back, the guy in front of me looks up and says, “Um, can I get a boost too?” HELL YES. Then I jump up (me like adrenaline), over, down, and FINISH!!!!!!
I ended up in the Top 20% of all finishers (1,019 out of over 5,500), as well as Top 20% for my age group. My adjusted time for the race was like 1:38:00, since my wave started 6 minutes after the first wave.
I'll chat more about my half-marathon training next time, as well as the list you've all been waiting for...songs since last post I've been asked to download (let's just say I have evil, evil relatives)
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Damn, Now He's BLOGGING TOO?!?
Yep. I'm going to skip the novella-length e-mails, and go all SHIZ on you folks. For the unititiated, that's Steve and Heather's family blog (Steve, Heather, Issie, Zane, and no clue what its name will morph into when Jax arrives). Technically, I was blogging first, but that's just petty, and you can't do petty to a 39-weeks pregnant woman. You are a better blogger than me, anyway, Heather. I can only pull off my own voice; you do 4. You are the Jim Henson of the blogosphere.
We sit less than 2 weeks away from the Men's Health Urbanathlon. This is the 12-mile obstacle course I'm running on October 17th. I literally CAN'T FRIGGIN' WAIT for this race. I did a 12-week training program, also from Men's Health magazine, to prepare, and I'm almost down to my college weight, complete with the beginnings of actually visual abs. Damn straight I'm bragging.
Blame Steve. Last, what, Thanksgiving, Steve? We went on a 4-mile "fun run" together. Steve decided he had to SPRINT the last 1/2 mile, then talk smack the rest of the weekend when he left me behind. Hell, he's like 3 inches taller than me, and it's all in his legs...he's like a gazelle when he strides out. Screw that; he pretty much beat EVERY SINGLE athletic accomplishment of mine through high school. He will SO not be a better runner than me.
THEN Kristin decides SHE has to run a half-marathon, just cuz. Rock on, big sister!!!
So it was either do this Urbanathlon or learn how to swim and become a triathlete. And, in a quirk of genetics, I don't float (I swear the previous sentence is 100% true). So obstacle course run it is.
Anyone else see the word "obstacle" and think of John Tuturro from O Brother, Where Art Thou? "Ob'-sta-culs"
ANYWAY...
As a result of that training program, I'm running...less, ironically enough. I work out 3 days a week (theorhetically), and run 3 days. Which means 2 workouts, 3 runs. The workouts are circuit training, which apparently is French for "make everything hurt, all at once." I am FLYING on my run days, though. I ran 4 miles yesterday, and my AVERAGE mile was under 8 minutes. Saturday was an 11.5 mile run, and average mile was around 8:15. Sub-2:00 half-marathon, YOU ARE MINE!
Hang on. Just heard the beginning of Joe's song, "Jump" by Van Halen, and he's RIGHT: I TOTALLY thought of The Lead Off Man!!!!
More to come after the (shorter) long run this weekend. Tapering down for the race next Saturday.
BLOG WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: "Still Unbroken", Lynnard Skynnard, "I'm Alive", Kenny Chesney and DMB, "Jump", Van Halen
We sit less than 2 weeks away from the Men's Health Urbanathlon. This is the 12-mile obstacle course I'm running on October 17th. I literally CAN'T FRIGGIN' WAIT for this race. I did a 12-week training program, also from Men's Health magazine, to prepare, and I'm almost down to my college weight, complete with the beginnings of actually visual abs. Damn straight I'm bragging.
Blame Steve. Last, what, Thanksgiving, Steve? We went on a 4-mile "fun run" together. Steve decided he had to SPRINT the last 1/2 mile, then talk smack the rest of the weekend when he left me behind. Hell, he's like 3 inches taller than me, and it's all in his legs...he's like a gazelle when he strides out. Screw that; he pretty much beat EVERY SINGLE athletic accomplishment of mine through high school. He will SO not be a better runner than me.
THEN Kristin decides SHE has to run a half-marathon, just cuz. Rock on, big sister!!!
So it was either do this Urbanathlon or learn how to swim and become a triathlete. And, in a quirk of genetics, I don't float (I swear the previous sentence is 100% true). So obstacle course run it is.
Anyone else see the word "obstacle" and think of John Tuturro from O Brother, Where Art Thou? "Ob'-sta-culs"
ANYWAY...
As a result of that training program, I'm running...less, ironically enough. I work out 3 days a week (theorhetically), and run 3 days. Which means 2 workouts, 3 runs. The workouts are circuit training, which apparently is French for "make everything hurt, all at once." I am FLYING on my run days, though. I ran 4 miles yesterday, and my AVERAGE mile was under 8 minutes. Saturday was an 11.5 mile run, and average mile was around 8:15. Sub-2:00 half-marathon, YOU ARE MINE!
Hang on. Just heard the beginning of Joe's song, "Jump" by Van Halen, and he's RIGHT: I TOTALLY thought of The Lead Off Man!!!!
More to come after the (shorter) long run this weekend. Tapering down for the race next Saturday.
BLOG WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: "Still Unbroken", Lynnard Skynnard, "I'm Alive", Kenny Chesney and DMB, "Jump", Van Halen
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Doldrums
Well, not much has been posted for the past few weeks...okay, so "not much" means "squadoosh". I've been in the Doldrums for a number of reasons:
---Connie went to DC for five days 2 weekends ago (thanks to all the wonderful family members who told me that I should have had Connie get together with Ann...after Connie had left for DC and the family entire had decamped to Indiana for Alex's Christening! You people and your timing make me understand how Uncle Bob ended up with 7 children!). So with no means of running short of saying, "Don't start a fire, I'll be back in an hour" I couldn't run for those days.
--I pulled a muscle in my back...drinking water. I swear on the headband of the punky QB, that's 100% true. I was at parent-teacher conferences, and while talking to a mom, water went down the wrong way, and while trying to cough it back up, I strained a muscle in my back. For 5 days I literally could NOT take a deep breath.
---After the drinking problem, I came down with a sinus cold.
So I've been hosting a 2-week pity party. Fun fun fun. I'd actually started considering dropping down to running the half marathon, with wonderful thoughts like, "Nobody would notice" and "It's still 13.1 miles". Real manly-man stuff. I actually had fellow runners saying, "Don't torture yourself. Run the half."
Enter Connie.
"You are in better shape and you are doing a better job of running than last time, and you finished THAT year, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"So what's the problem? You have a month left. Use it."
THAT'S MY WIFE!!!!!
Oh, and the fact that I'm going bald officially helps.
Tomorrow is a new day, complete with a 4-mile run on the calendar. Time to rock 'n roll!!!!
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
---Connie went to DC for five days 2 weekends ago (thanks to all the wonderful family members who told me that I should have had Connie get together with Ann...after Connie had left for DC and the family entire had decamped to Indiana for Alex's Christening! You people and your timing make me understand how Uncle Bob ended up with 7 children!). So with no means of running short of saying, "Don't start a fire, I'll be back in an hour" I couldn't run for those days.
--I pulled a muscle in my back...drinking water. I swear on the headband of the punky QB, that's 100% true. I was at parent-teacher conferences, and while talking to a mom, water went down the wrong way, and while trying to cough it back up, I strained a muscle in my back. For 5 days I literally could NOT take a deep breath.
---After the drinking problem, I came down with a sinus cold.
So I've been hosting a 2-week pity party. Fun fun fun. I'd actually started considering dropping down to running the half marathon, with wonderful thoughts like, "Nobody would notice" and "It's still 13.1 miles". Real manly-man stuff. I actually had fellow runners saying, "Don't torture yourself. Run the half."
Enter Connie.
"You are in better shape and you are doing a better job of running than last time, and you finished THAT year, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"So what's the problem? You have a month left. Use it."
THAT'S MY WIFE!!!!!
Oh, and the fact that I'm going bald officially helps.
Tomorrow is a new day, complete with a 4-mile run on the calendar. Time to rock 'n roll!!!!
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Yankee visit
LONG RUN THIS WEEK: 12.1 miles
NIKE + MILES IN 2008: 508.58 (!!!)
Great to see mom & dad this weekend, even with the inevitable flux up of the running schedule. Trying to stay hydrated is always a concern when I get together with family, for obvious reasons.
As a testament to how mathmatically challenged I am, here's a ridiculous story from my run Saturday:
I had to run 12 miles. I have 2 loops I can run in the neighborhood. One is 4 miles long, the other 3 miles long. I have been running midweek for 7 miles (one of each). It took me 3 solid days to figure out how I could work out a 12 mile run. Reason: I usually run 7, so I couldn't get that starting figure out of my head. I literally had not figured it out before I started my Saturday run. About 2 miles in, I finally awoke to the fact that 4 times 3 is, indeed, 12.
I love seeing mom & dad, and I must inquire: Is mom physically incapable of NOT doing work? She made me lend her clothes Saturday morning, and weeded flower beds for 3 hours...just 'cuz.
I inch ever closer to bald, and I enjoy the thought less and less. On the flip side, I am seeing real results on the endurance front. Let's see what happens this coming Saturday, when 17 miles are on the menu. Roll Tide!
At least the Bears are winnning.
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
NIKE + MILES IN 2008: 508.58 (!!!)
Great to see mom & dad this weekend, even with the inevitable flux up of the running schedule. Trying to stay hydrated is always a concern when I get together with family, for obvious reasons.
As a testament to how mathmatically challenged I am, here's a ridiculous story from my run Saturday:
I had to run 12 miles. I have 2 loops I can run in the neighborhood. One is 4 miles long, the other 3 miles long. I have been running midweek for 7 miles (one of each). It took me 3 solid days to figure out how I could work out a 12 mile run. Reason: I usually run 7, so I couldn't get that starting figure out of my head. I literally had not figured it out before I started my Saturday run. About 2 miles in, I finally awoke to the fact that 4 times 3 is, indeed, 12.
I love seeing mom & dad, and I must inquire: Is mom physically incapable of NOT doing work? She made me lend her clothes Saturday morning, and weeded flower beds for 3 hours...just 'cuz.
I inch ever closer to bald, and I enjoy the thought less and less. On the flip side, I am seeing real results on the endurance front. Let's see what happens this coming Saturday, when 17 miles are on the menu. Roll Tide!
At least the Bears are winnning.
peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7
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