Half way there!

I think we're at the half way point. 8 weeks down, 8 weeks to go - not bad!! The longest, hardest weeks are still in front of me, but it feels pretty good to be half way here and still standing/running ;-)

Another big group this weekend. Due to time constraints, I needed to be back at the house by 8 this week. Did my best to get up and out of the house by 6:15 - YUCK! Even though I run at 6:30 every weekend, I am NOT a morning person!

Ran 13.5 with the group outdoors and then 3.5 on the treadmill. This AM I cycled on the trainer for 10 miles waiting for Jean to get home and then ran 8 outside. It was pretty windy today - temps not bad, but big windchill!

Saw Seamus (and his family at Church this AM). Thanks to an email from his Mom, Seamus is now featured on my Children's site - check it out!

What a guy!!

Weekend wrapup...

Biggest group ever this weekend! That was great, but it also made planning a little difficult as people wanted to go different distances and speeds. The group quickly split into two groups with several people pushing the pace (no names, but you know who you are). Initially I was in the lead group, but was able to pull back - kept telling myself that the long run is not about speed! How about that? Used water, GU, and endurolytes for the run this weekend. Seemed to work - never really bonked or cramped.

When I arrived back home after 2 hours and 32 minutes of running, I went immediately to mapmyrun.com to get a distance. I was pleased to realize that I had actually run 19.5 miles - I was targeting 18. Normally, the .5 would have bothered me (I like whole numbers and have been known to run around parking lots to get to the next even mile), but I was able to let it go ;-) Of course today, I purposely ran 6.5 to get to an even 26 for the weekend - not bad!!

Had a bit of a 'equipment malfunction' this AM. I have been running in lose fitting pants this year - too old for tights ;-) The problem is that they are a little long for my 30" inseam. In the middle of a hill this AM I could feel them flapping around - I should have stopped to zip them, but decided I didn't want to stop in the middle of the hill - big mistake! Next thing I knew I was on the ground. Tried to tuck them in my socks as best as I could, but after a second near fall I had to take them off and run bare legged the rest of the way - BRRRR!

Overall a successful weekend of running! Not sure what's up for next week - might bump down to the 2 hour range and bump back up on 2/27. We'll see.

Anyway, off to the walk the dog - can I count those miles in my log - I think so ;-)

Thanks for listening!

Michael

non running post

I promised myself that this would be a purely running/training related blog. I hate to break my promise so quickly, but several people have commented that the Lowell Sun article is no longer available online. I thought it might be a good idea to post it here:

Perfectly Imperfect

Our society, and we as parents, place a lot of emphasis on perfection. We feel tremendous pressure to live in the right town, send our kids to the rights schools, say the right things, wear the right clothes – you know the drill. The reality is that most of us will never achieve perfection. At some point in our lives, due to our own missteps, or more likely, circumstances beyond our control, we will be forced to deal with an imperfect situation. It is at these times, that our true nature is revealed and tested.

I live in a world where perfection is seldom realized. Our daughter contracted encephalitis as an infant. The disease left her with significant physical and mental disabilities. My family faces the struggle of raising a handicapped child on a daily, often hourly basis. We don’t worry about the perfect school, or the perfect grades, or the perfect clothes. Our worries are much more mundane – seizures, and scoliosis, and respiratory problems to name a few.

On a good day, I realize that there is no such thing as perfection in life. When I am able to take a step back and be objective I realize that our family has been blessed - maybe not in the traditional way, but in an equally meaningful way. Our daughter will never go to college, never get married and never live independently. On the surface, there seems to be little joy in this reality and there are many days when this is indeed the case.

Then a wonderful thing happens. I come home from work at the end of a long and exhausting day. The dog needs to be taken out, the mail needs to be sorted, I want to talk to my wife about her day and experiences, there seems to be no end to the number of things I should be doing. I am tired and distracted. Then my daughter comes bounding (literally – she is not exactly light on her feet) out of the family room and greets me with the most perfect hug that one could ever receive. I am instantly energized and uplifted.

This is a daily event in our home. Although my daughter is in her late teens, she has not lost her childhood innocence. She is still able to give and receive unconditional love. Most teenagers have little use for their parents or families. I am greeted on a daily basis as though I have been gone for a month. Who’s the lucky guy now?

During this Holiday season I encourage everyone to find some small piece of perfection. Some will definitely need to look harder than others, but everyone will find something in their lives to be thankful for.

I am perfect in my daughter’s eyes. And she is, in her own way, perfect in mine. How wonderful!

Now - backing to running.....

1st 18 miler this Saturday. Check back to see how it went?

Another one done...

Well, one more 16 miler done. The run started as a 15, but I ended up getting 'stuck' between miles (people that run with me know my obsession with whole numbers - among other things ;-)) . I added little bit at the end. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I was feeling good so what the heck. 15-16 seems like my 'base' now, that should be a good thing - right ?

Anyway, the run went well. Took a GU at around 1 hour. I haven't been carrying any water - I should probably start that soon. Don't want to be doing anything for the 1ts time on the 'big' day.

Thanks again to my running friends! This AM they got an Aimee update and some Scott Brown jabs (I think I am the only non-Democrat in the crowd. I guess I'm one of the Brown independent's now.) Politics is always a 'go-to' topic to get the conversation/pace up. So far, no actual fights have broken out, but I'm working on it ;-)

Looks like an 18 on the schedule for next week. I'll probably just run for time - somewhere in the 2:20 range. Seems like a lot, but it's only 12 minutes longer than this week's run - that doesn't seem bad...

Talk to you soon. Thanks for 'listening'!