The big 200th post.

at least if my counter is correct. Truthfully while i find round numbers interesting and i thought about making a big todo and recap of the past near two years of running for at first, weight-loss, then to see how far i can go, but am opting for otherwise....

But first things first....i think i'm back to about 90% of where i was pre-injury. i type that as i ran for 15 miles on Sunday morning and, while not quite the 20 i should of done i figure this week is a good week for a 20. In many ways this training, or lack thereof, has been a "see-how-it-goes" train, and while i intend to taper the last 2 weeks, i think i haven't done any of the muscle damage normal training would drain from me...so a shorter...less taper in the taper, taper.

To follow the 15 miles, i hit 7 yesterday and seem to bee quite comfy at a 8:30/pace. So i think i will finish in Chicago, and if i was forced to pick a time goal, i would think perhaps 4:15 is very do-able. As with the Bayshore, i use a 7 mile hour as a benchmark. Well i haven't done a lot of work but my 14 mile point was 2:01 from Sunday, but i make no claim to be able to continue to 21 miles after three hours.

This is the fun part about loooong running. See, to me the mental part is more fun than the running. The planning, the mental conditioning to run a smart race. There is an internal part of running with a strong gut that means so much more to me than the physical work.

i must take a moment here to mention how i seem to have lost my blogging muse. Or perhaps she has abandoned me. i admit to have lost my focus while developing my new career. Or better typed....focused on other things like starting my own business.

i'm actually 2 short weeks away from opening....after the months of study, followed my intense weeks of market research and training, and learning the logistical things like actually opening accounts and preparing presentations completely different than presentations i have done in past....i'm going to open shortly.

odd. Cause a big part is going "then what???"

i truly feel like Ralph Macchio from the Karate Kid movies....y'know i've waxed the cars, painted the fence, sanded the deck...but now i'm going to a tourney and man i don't even know what belt i should have on.

To draw a real life comparision...it's a lot like training for a marathon. i was given a training plan, and told if i just follow the plan i will finish and enjoy the trip. Well, i am hitting the taper portion of training and i feel like i should be hitting longer miles, while everyone who has ran this before is saying to trust the plan. i need to just trust the plan.

At least in moments when i start to stress out, i have this little guy to keep me laughing...




what a ham...dancing to the music from his gameboy...while watching himself in the reflection of our picture window.

it's the stuff that keeps me moving forward when i get tired.

thanks for reading