OFF TO FLORIDA

We are going to Florida from Thursday to Tuesday. From a running standpoint, I am excited about exploring new roads. I love to run in different places. The air is suffocating in the south. I like smelling new smells, hearing new hears, tasting new tastes. I ran 4.5 miles this morning. The house I talked about yesterday was dark. . .I am hoping that the lady who lives there did not run out of time. I went to bed with an unbelievable toothache - -slept on the hardwoods in our son's room trying to press my throbbing cheek deep into the cool floor for relief. . .went to the Dentist and she didn't see anything. I will survive. I have a 9 mile run scheduled for Saturday while still at Disney World. On Monday we will be in Daytona Beach - I won't run on the beach for 2 reasons #1 It REALLY hurts the tendons and #2 I am not Rocky.

I DON'T ALWAYS LIKE MYSELF

but  I like myself when I run. I worked out at the Y yesterday. I didn't impress anybody there with how much weight I was lifting. This morning I ran at 5:00AM . . .I ran past a house that I have been running by for 5 years and this time saw an ambulance and a stretcher. In the summer, she works out in the yard early before the sun gets hot. She has her TV on early in the morning year round. I don't know her, but I know about certain aspects of her life. When you run, you observe . . .As I ran by, all I could do was pray for her. I have 4 miles to run in the morning - -I will run by her house and hope to see the TV flickering in the front window. I listened to the song, "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show at least 1,400 times today. I don't always like myself, but I like myself when I run . . .     

Fathers Day

Ran 5 miles today. Unsure at this point how I am ever going to manage to squeak out another 21 miles. However, I never thought that I would be able to run 13.1 miles and I have three times. I keep all of this running in perspective. I have certainly had to do harder things in my life than run 13.1 miles and now 26.2 miles. I have had to have hard conversations. I have had to say goodbye to people that I love. I have had to watch a 12 year old boy get his heart broken for the first time after a dance. I have had my heart broken. I have overcome (through the strength of God) addictions, . . .so all this is is running. I am going to battle a lot tougher things in my life than to try to run 26.2 miles. I already have.

I spent this day with my dad, my son and my step dad. I am thankful that all of them are still around. One day they won't be - - -and when that day comes, I will run to try and relieve some of the hurt. I spent most of the day swinging in a hammock with my high school sweetheart and walking in the creek with our 13 year old offspring! My 5 year old daughter made me a card that said "I like you" on the front cover - - -I am glad that she likes me! I love her.

Tomorrow morning I go to the Y and workout. . . .  

Saturday

Last year on this date I ran in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It was the serenest (most serene?) run of my 2010. Tucked in between the Smoky Mountains I felt like I could run forever. I ran 5 miles today. I ran past a dead bird, a bag of Cheerios and an adult diaper. I did not pick up any of it. I ran down the highway. It is a rush meeting a semi head-on at 60 - 65 mph. It was loud enough to drown out the Kanye beating in my headphones. I am going to run again in the morning. It is Father's Day and I would like to welcome the sun (son) on some country road. After my run I "iced" and took a shower. I feel clean, fit and content; this being the part of the run that I love most. On the aging process, the poet Dylan Thomas wrote: "I will not go gentle into that good night . . ."nor will I my dear drunken Welsh poet friend.

Friday Night

My training does not have me run on Monday, Friday or Saturday. However, until my long runs on Sunday become over 9 miles I will run a little bit on Saturday as well. I go to the Y and workout on Monday and Friday. I will resume SPA DAY again on Mondays when my Sunday runs get long once again. SPA DAY consists of me sitting in the corner of the pool at the Y at 5:45AM. I sit there for about 20 minutes and stretch. I don't swim I just hover in the corner. I tend to freak out  the old ladies in swim caps. I think they think I am stalking them - I am not. After the pool, I sit in the sauna . . .usually alone . .however a stray old man occasional wanders in. Old men have no shame. I will leave it at that. I risk injury when I run too much without giving my body rest. . .I have learned that the hard way over the years. I have learned pretty much everything the hard way over the years. I look forward to my runs tomorrow and Sunday. I look forward to getting "out" in the world again. On the days that I don't run I feel like I used to when I was ten and my best friend left on the train for vacation. I know that he will be back but I know that I won't be the same until he returns.

It is 5:45AM

It is 5:45AM and I am back from my run. My family still sleeps. My training only called for 3 miles today. The mileage will really start ramping up here in a couple of weeks. I punished myself for the 3 miles I did run today. When it started to get uncomfortable - - I pushed even harder. Last night I ate 9 chicken strips, fries and a Coors Light at Buffalo Wild Wings. I am not a food snob but the 9 chicken strips (each one the size of a mother hen) dunked in Ranch dressing is not standard fare for someone training for a marathon. I felt the chicken strips this morning on my run . . .I am also doing pushups after every run. I used to be religious in doing pushups several times per day. . .and then I got out of the habit because they started to hurt. I am not going to get out of the habit this time . . .atleast not until September 25th. Surprisingly I was the only one at Buffalo Wild Wings last night that had a "Got Jack Johnson?" tshirt on. I thank God this morning that I have a family that is healthy and sleeps upstairs and an opportnity to go to work today and provide for them. I also thank God for a nice clean shave and a bottle of old school Canoe aftershave. . .

I RUN - I AM NOT A RUNNER

I ran 4 miles this morning at 5:15AM. I ran past both the elementary school and middle school that I went to in the 70's and early 80's. I went to a visitation last night - a classmate who went to the same schools I did. It was odd running this morning by the same playgrounds that he used to run on.  I AM NOT A RUNNER - I RUN. I don't wear a watch. I don't wear short shorts. I don't wear a visor. I don't wear cool sunglasses. However, I look MORE like a runner now than I ever have simply because my wife told me that I looked too much like Woody Harrelson in "White Men Can't Jump" after my first half marathon last year. After bloody nipples (yes, I said bloody nipples - runners will get it!). . .I now understand the importance of certain materials! I listened to Coldplay the X&Y album this morning. It is almost too much for me as every line of every song makes me think. . .When I run, my BODY lives in the NOW! My mind might wander forward and reverse, but my body has no other option but to live in the NOW! I could learn from it. . .

IN THE RAIN

I RAN THREE MILES AT 5:15AM IN THE RAIN. I RAN HARD. MY SHIRT WAS A 50/50 MIX OF RAIN AND SWEAT. IT SMELLED LIKE A MARATHON. ANOTHER PERSON I KNOW DIED YESTERDAY. WE CAN'T OUT RUN THAT. I PRAYED FOR HER FAMILY WHEN I RAN. I PRAYED FOR PEACE FOR THEM WHEN IT IS TIME FOR PEACE. IT IS NOT TIME FOR PEACE YET, JUST HURT. I AM CHRONICLING THIS JOURNEY FOR 26.2 BECAUSE IT WILL BE THE ONLY "FIRST" THAT I WILL HAVE WITH THIS. OUR WHOLE LIFE IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SERIES OF "FIRSTS" AND "LASTS". I AM REALLY DIGGING THE POETRY OF GARY SNYDER RIGHT NOW.

THIS WEEKEND

I ran 4.7 miles on Saturday and 7 miles on Sunday. Everything starts to hurt at 7 miles for me. I can feel the lactic acid build up in my legs . . .after 7 miles I feel like my legs are logs. I ran in the country (Fremont Street to the East) past a house that, last year, 2 dogs came out to the road and tried to bite me. I lifted both of them off of the ground at the same time with my Asics. The coast was clear this year. I have no idea how I am going to run 26.2 miles. I talked to my "running buddy" on Saturday . . .he is training for a 100 mile race. I am not. My toe nail on my right foot is preparing to come off. It is black. It looks like I have painted it. I have not. My training is still pretty light this week. So far with this traning I am running quite a few miles less per week than I normally run. In a few weeks my mileage will ramp up and I will risk injury if I do not take the time to stretch. I am trying to eat better. Every pound I lose will save my knees. My right knee has a 12 inch scar from a repaired ACL. Ironically, it has never been the one to bother me. I have decided to "ice" after every run whether I think that I need it or not. A guy I grew up with died on Friday. I have thought about him all weekend. I still remember what he wore in 5th grade. It is interesting what my mind retains. It is also interesting what it chooses to forget . . .though I don't remember what it chooses to forget . .because I forgot. I like myself when I run. . .

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

I am in my second week of training for The Quad Cities Marathon on September 25 in the Year of our Lord two thousand and eleven. My life is nothing more than random ponderings, incomplete sentences, stream of consciousness ramblings and sometimes plain nonsense. When I run . . .things get clearer. I think that some of the reason I have clarity when I run is because I turn off the noise in my head and let my breathing, my God and the little boy in me - JUST BE.

Today was just 3 miles. I hit the road at 5:30AM. I out ran a thunderstorm. When I got home I took my shoes off. I walked halfway down the block (like I always do) and stretched on a brick wall in front of someones house. I have been doing this for five years. After stretching, I ran back home BAREFOOT on our brick street. I have always heard that we aren't stupid and our feet will pickup as soon as they feel something sharp. I tried it. Surprisingly, I'm not stupid.

For those of you keeping score at home . . .in week 2 of my training I weigh 181 pounds. I am not really doing this to lose weight. I am doing this to see how tough I am. I have lived a lot of lives in my life. This is the one I am living now. . .