Putting The Horse Back In Front Of The Cart

This week my daily 5 mile commitment has all but fallen apart. The run itself only takes an hour but the usual challenge of finding the time got the best of me and all of the important responsibilities like work, commuting, time with family, household chores to name a few took precedence. Then a simple blood pressure check at work had the nurse telling me I needed to see my doctor a soon as possible! This caused a bit of a panic and I did what I should have done in the first place, consult a physician before beginning an exercise program. All turned out ok with the visit, blood pressure is a little high and I’ve been given medication for that. EKG was a.o.k. and the doctor said there is no reason to stop running as long as I feel ok during and after. So I am getting back on track, but I need to rearrange the schedule and re-evaluate what it is I’m up to. Since starting, I’m getting into much better shape. I also enjoy the running but at the same time the daily grind trying to find time does take its toll, especially when I’m stealing from time I could be spending with Cari-anne and the kids. There are some things that are more important than jogging. My new plan is to continue running somewhere between 25 and 30 miles per week. Rather than doing 5 miles on every outing I will try to mix it up with shorter and longer runs to reach my weekly goal. That way I can take advantage of days when I have the time by running more and on days when I don’t, a short run or day off will do. I need to incorporate some long runs in anyway because on October 19th I’ll be in for the long haul. 26.2 miles is a long way to go. I can’t say I won’t be walking a bit along the way but I know I’ll cross that finish line. Thanks for stopping by. Keep checking back to see how it all turns out.

Georgia Runs Again

I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about leaving Georgia behind on my runs and even more so since she hasn’t been getting her fair share of walk’s lately either. Over the past weekend we hopped in the car and set out together for the Snow Hill Recreation Area about a 10 minute drive from the house. Then with odometer clicking, drove down the seldom traveled gravel road until we ticked off 2.5 miles. There I tied a ribbon around a tree branch and headed back to the parking area. Now around the house Georgia is a pretty laid back dog spending much of her time curled up with our cat Milo in her dog bed. She is very gentle with our kids too in spite of their ear pullings and other devilish games they are learning to play with her. This subdued mood disappears the minute the doorbell rings and she is transformed into the wild affectionate monster who’s sole purpose is to get as close to whoever this new person visiting is. Hopping out of the car at the park is much the same and she is such a beautiful dog it doesn’t help that everyone comes up to greet her. After making friends with everyone, and their dogs, “G-Force” allowed me to start our jog with the familiar tugging away at her leash that ended our jogging partnership way back in May. Once we passed the 2^nd gate and were off on our own I set her free. As expected she was tearing off in front of me or lagging behind until I called out come on “G” and she’d come racing back. This went on for about the first 2 miles and then suddenly I had the dog I always knew she was inside gently trotting alongside of me. At the turn around point she perked up a little because she knew which direction the car was in. Basically a lazy lapdog she was eager to get back to it, to the house and perhaps a nap with the cat. It was a nice run. A beautiful warm day but cool in the shade of the forest and Georgia deserved more outings like this. Arriving at the parking lot again she had been transformed to my obedient servant and even though there were a whole new bunch of people to go make friends with, a simple “heal Georgia” kept her in check. I’d say there is hope for our runs together after all.

I've covered 45 miles since my last post.

2 months to go until the big day!

Run Down On The Run Up Until Now

First of all I would like to thank Janis, Scott, Joy and Kimberly for your generous donations in Memory of Joshua Keller. Your support is greatly appreciated and your contributions will help the March of Dimes in their fight against premature birth.

It’s been about 3 months since I began these daily outings and far to long since posting to let the world know how my preparation for the Mount Desert Marathon has been going. I can’t get too excited about reciting a bunch of mile and time statistics so I’ll try to spare those details, but here is a run down on the run up until now.

Way back during those early May mornings I was sporting sweat pants and hooded jacket with hands pulled up into the sleeves to fight the early morning chill. These were mainly brisk walks with Georgia around the hilly 3 mile loop which would become part of my daily route. In my head I was thinking “run a marathon for a good cause” and in reality I couldn’t conceive of running 2 blocks. Then seemingly out of nowhere I began jogging a bit each day, tripping all over Georgia’s leash as I set my sites on “just up to that mail box,” “drive way” or “street sign.” Before long it was separate walks for Georgia and each time jogging I was going just a little bit further, slowly working myself up to a solid mile. For a while I was content with this and walking the rest, reasoning that I didn’t want to push myself to hard and regret it. This was probably a good decision and as time passed I was up to jogging 2, 3 then 4 miles. This didn’t happen overnight of course. I haven’t been following any particular training program either, except that I don’t want to back slide. If I made it this far on one day, I need to go at least that far the next. Now I’m up to 5 miles on most days. I say “most days” because sometimes there just isn’t enough day in the day to get out and run. There have also been other excuses to skip a day here and there, big colds, sick kids, foot pain, backaches and pink eye. Ok the pink eye was kind of cheating but I am never the less dedicated and get very mad at myself when I don’t do my daily task.

Finding time has been the trickiest part. Early on I was able to get up 5ish and hit the road during that brief moment of tranquility before the boys woke up. Schedules are always changing but with a little improvising and the help of my biggest supporter Cari-anne, I get my run in. My wife can’t really understand why I’ve chosen a marathon to channel my energies into but she has been behind me all the way. A few months ago I began finding gifts on my pillow. A new pair of jogging shorts one night or a nice t-shirt or socks on another. Out with the old sweats and in with the new summer attire. On days when I was inclined to roll over and hit the snooze she would nudge me, several times until I got up and out. I’d return home to find my usual morning responsibility taken care of with the kids up, fed, dressed, meals packed and ready to go. Lately my strategy has been getting the kids off to daycare early and then doing my run. Even better, today Cari-anne and I dropped off the kids together and as she proceeded to work, I ran the 5 miles back home with plenty of time to get off to work myself. So I guess where there’s a will there’s a way.

October 19^th is not all that far off and I realize I still have a tremendous amount of work ahead of me. Considering that 5 miles is only about 1/5 of the distance I plan to cover in one day I need to up my mileage at least once a week. Check back. I’ll be out running every day to earn your support. Please consider a donation to the March of Dimes in Joshua's Memory.