Gone To Croatan

This is my last post before we leave for Vegas. I am excited, in dread, and a little nauseus, but mostly just looking forward to the day. I am afraid of the marathon. I suppose in a way I have always been afraid of the marathon. That is why it has been important to me to find one and run it. After Sunday there will be one less thing in life to fear.

Official Marathon Blogcast

Riona has agreed to be the official RBF blogcaster for Vegas. How cool is that? Thanks for volunteering to get early when you don't hafta...

Six and a WU

Six days and a wake up...

I think it is cool that you can look up who else will be running on a city by city basis on the lvmarathon.com site. So, to the other three people from my area running I say, "Have a good race Andy, Mark, and Cathy!"

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Today I give thanks for:
1. My family - I can't think of two people I've known who have been better parents than mine. I can't imagine how I ended up with someone as intelligent, thoughtful and supporting as my wife, or how we have been so blessed as to have our son, whom I think of first thing when I wake up and who I can't wait to see at the end of the day.

2. My Health - this frosty morning, I went and did an incredibly short seeming 3 mile hill work out. The cool air was like sipping champagne. 'Nuff said..

3. My community and career - I live where I want to live and do a job I chose and look forward to going to each day.

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Goal Oriented Much??

Goal Oriented Much??
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

I am aware that it's actually customary to have framed photos of your family members on your desk at work, but what can I say...

Tapering is the way to live

This past Saturday's scheduled 12 has to have been one of the most pleasurable runs I've had yet. It was sufficiently long to get all systems up and running and all the juices flowing but much shorter than the current limitations of my body. The weather was just about perfect too - cool, crisp winter day with bright sunlight and crunchy fallen leaves. I ran around my favorite lake park where they were holding a historical re-enactment/historical festival to mark the Louis & Clark Bicentenial. There were lots of kids running around, eating fry bread and lots of adults dressed in buckskin and blanket coats to add to the scenery. My average for the whole thing was an 8.30, which is about a minute less than my average. I probably ran closer to 9 for most of it, but when I got to mile 9 I started a sprint that took me down to about a 7.30 for the last three miles. Like I said, this taper stuff is fun.

Vegas Freaky Thoughts

As I cruised around the blogosphere this morning, checking on all my Vegas runners, it became apparent that we are all (or mostly), starting to get the pre-race jitters.

Last night I got to the lake to run my scheduled eight. As I started down the trail I was weighed down with unhappy thoughts about not getting everything done at work that I had wanted to... how the heck am I going to run 26.2..... when am I going to find the time to get the pile of leaves I raked up off the lawn before the grass dies.... 26 point freaking 2..... I need to get some firewood split... A MARATHON? ARE YOU CRAZY!?!

I ran faster and faster, and it felt pretty good, so I ran a little faster. By the time I had completed one circuit of the lake (3.8 miles), I was running a 6.47 which is unbelievably smoking for me. Walking back to my car, I felt better. Like Partyrunner said in her last post - thank you running for being a stabilizing force in my life.

Shirt News; All but one payment has been received. Shirts to be mailed have been so sent off. The rest have little sticky notes with their owners names to be handed over in Vegas. We're off to see the wizard.

Vegas Shirt Back

DSCF0523
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

Running, running... I did my planned 5 miler in the dark last night. It was fairly enjoyable even though I was breaking in some new running gear that was a little uncomfortable. As I was getting done, I thought, "Hmm, that was easy, wasn't it? ....YAH, BECAUSE IN VEGAS YOU'LL STILL HAVE 21 MILES AT THIS POINT!!!"

eek.

In other news, I took my new RBF shirt out for its maiden voyage. I don't think I'll be leaving the reflective vest tucked away in its pocket. The weight bouncing on my back was just a little too irritating.

RBF Logo, Front

DSCF0521
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

1

Wherein Scott Solicits Advice from the Blogosphere

Reading Drew's latest post, got me wondering about my own training program. I ran the 20 miler my plan called for this past Friday. The plan has me doing a 12 miler this weekend, an 8 miler the next weekend, three short runs the week of the race, a few days rest and then BAM, Vegas Baby!

I wasn't all that satisfied with my performance this past week and I'm not feeling as confident as I'd like to be at this point. I finished the run without undue pain and without injury but I walked a lot and came in almost a full minute per mile slower that I usually run my distance runs at. I'm considering running the short runs per the plan this week and then doing one more long run before I start my candle. What, dear readers, do you think of this idea?

Main Entry: ¹ta·per
Pronunciation: 'tA-p&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tapor candle, wick, perhaps modification of Latin papyrus papyrus
1 a : a slender candle b : a long waxed wick used especially for lighting candles, lamps, pipes, or fires c : a feeble light

Taper is Here, Yes!

Tu Oh, Two Zero, 20. I can’t say I ran it well, but I ran it. According to the forerunner my average pace was 10:14, which is just about a minute per mile slower that I usually run. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I hit that wall big time somewhere around mile 17. By the time I got home I had devolved to the point where I would have to pick a landmark ahead and force myself to keep running to it and then walking for a minute or 45 seconds before picking a new landmark. It didn’t help that at about mile 16 the driving cooolllldddd rain started pounding down. On the positive side. My darling wife drove out twice to check on me and give me water and gel. I’m a lucky man.

But, I made it and without any pain or injury. While in the shower after, I kept hearing this sweet seductive voice faintly calling my name. Moving into the bedroom I found that it was my bed calling to me. Like a zombie I crawled in and almost cried from shear happiness.

I was supposed to leave work yesterday to drive down to Vancouver for my night class at 4:30. At 4:15 I decided to cut out a little early and stop by the store for a few things. Last night when I got home I found that the following email from the printing place had come into my inbox at 4:28:

“Hello! Your shirts are in! They look GREAT!! I think you will be very
pleased. Feel free to stop by anytime and pick them up. Our hours are
Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm, see you soon.”

Drat. I can’t say I didn’t deserve it, though. I guessing if you call my work line at about 8:45, Monday, you won't get an answer.

I’ve got a cuppa tea and a new video game to help my stay stationary this afternoon. Tomorrow early, we’ll drive over to Keith and Natalia’s for quilting and beers. Yahoo!

Confessions of a Bad Blogger

Long time, no blogging...

I'm still alive and I have a pulse. I just haven't been blogging much lately.

I'm excited about running, though. This is last big week before the taper starts. I've got 40 miles to go this week, with my long 20 on Saturday. I'm still injury free and looking forward to a pretty good chance of having a good marathon. Sub-Four? maybe, possibly... We'll see how the 20 goes this weekend.

And in Shirt News; They came! They are really light and clingy feeling. I can't wait to give my XL a test run. I took them in to the printer's this morning. Unfortunately, they sent us one too many larges and one too few mediums. The invoice has the correct number of shirts in the right sizes but what they stuffed in the bag doesn't match up. I'm not sure how we'll sort that out.

Scott Out