Slow is Ok with Me

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/sports/23marathon.html?em

I didn't even realize that there was a debate going on. But there is. I can understand the frustration of both sides. The slow runners want to participate just the same, but the speedy folks want to be able to differentiate themselves. If both sides get the race shirt, how are we all supposed to know that one person was faster? We aren't. Second place is the first loser anyways, right :)

I don't have a time I am aiming for. I don't have lingering hopes of breaking any sort of records. I want to finish and I want to run most of the time. It is not going to qualify me for the New York or the Boston. But, is that not the point of having marathons for which you must qualify before you can even participate? That makes more sense than saying the slow pokes should not even bother. The elite (ist) can still have their elite marathons and Joe Public can get his race shirt for running the Pocatello Community Marathon (if there is such a thing).

Gruyere and Self-Bribery

I have a weakness for cheese. Gruyere is one of my all time favorite cheeses. My God. It is tasty cheese. Since gym workouts can be unpleasant, I decided to bribe myself. With cheese. There was a brick of gruyere at home just waiting. Waiting for Sarah to come home, get out the cheese knife and go nuts. But, I agreed with myself that I could only have said cheese if I did 30 minutes on the stair stepper followed by two miles. It worked, but it is a little rough having vague cheese fantasies while watching the Food Network while trying to get into tip top shape. Actually, something is a little perverse about it, but I don't really care. I just finished my cheese. The workout is still fresh on my bones. The wine adds a little something. Mmmm. I am also going to have some ice cream. Why? Because I like ice cream. I have lost five pounds this month. It is not much in the grand scheme, but considering my reduced workout time, stress, and good strong diet that includes ice cream, wine, cheese, all manner of fresh baked goods, etc., I am doing pretty well. I think I will work out a little more, but continue my eating habits. Life is pretty good when there is cheese.....and Lactaid.

Rough Few Weeks

Do you know what is not conducive to running? Working 10-12 hour days. The feeling of being so burned out at the end of the day that all you really want to do is go to the Waffle House and drown your sorrows in waffle-y goodness. And, if you are from Juneau (or one of my out-of-town friends that I have dragged there), you know that includes ham and cheese. Right after the long days and weekend working, I went to Anchorage (for work) and worked out once. Then I got back and resumed 10 hour days. (I had to call it quits after 10). My boss was kind enough to let me actually work 4 10s this week instead of a regular 5-day week with 10-hour days. Monday (tomorrow) is Alaska Day...so no work. What does that mean? I got a 4 day weekend. Hell yeah. Did I work out? Once. I got a gym membership for the winter. Running on a treadmill is better than running in the shit. Juneau shit includes sideways rain, really hard rain, hail, freezing rain (Different than hail. Obviously.), sleet, frozen slush, regular slush, snow, wet snow, powder (If powder, will be skiing. Obviously), bitter cold, and the less threatening (and pleasant compared to the alternatives), mist. I guess I didn't even touch on wind. We get that too. Hopefully, after this weekend of a little relaxation, I will be back on the wagon in the running department.

Weight? 126. I lost 4 pounds, but let's be realistic. I haven't been working out much and I am guessing that the weight loss involves muscle loss. That might explain why the rowing machine felt a only a little bit better than running in the shit.

I have to be able to consistently and comfortably run 25 to 30 miles per week to be able to train for a marathon. It takes 4 months to train for the big 26.2. That means, if I want to run the Anchorage Mayor's in late June, I need to start training in late February. Here is the other schtick. The legislative session takes up a significant portion of said training time and I won't actually get out on the road (because the weather will be....guess....shit) until sometime in April. The taper will have to start early June. If I am not feeling it, I can always do the Douglas marathon in August. There is no harm in that, right?