To Excel In Life...Run!

     I struggle keeping my running log book up to date. My  buddy Dave has offered to review his and send me mileage for the past couple of months of our runs together. I have some runs listed in, thanks to the storage feature of my 305. And I did write in some others, well, a few...ok, two! Dang, why can't I just take 45 seconds to write down my run for the day when I get done?      Without being able to look back and see exactly what we've done, it's hard to know where we are, or should be, in regards to fitness. Sure, we know of certain workouts we've done over the past few weeks, but being able to see the numbers enables us to know if we are slacking or overdoing it over a six to eight week period. Especially if we make notes on how we felt for the day versus just logging the mileage. Notations add weather, conditions, course, etc and make reading early workouts more enjoyable and help you recall the effort more vividly. "Great 6 miler t...

     Sometimes it's the little gains that make the most difference. The ones hidden from view and hardly mentioned. If I had two glass jars of wooden match sticks, one representing the big events in my life, the other a collection for each of the smaller events in my life, there's no question the second jar would be much fuller. Much the same as most anyone.      If asked, it would be a tough decision on which jar would be the one to keep, if only one could be kept. In many instances, the big events won't happen without help from little events. The crescendo does not stand alone, it is given life in the prelude and carried away by the finale. But there are big events that happen right before our eyes, or across the country, that defy the odds and stand as a signal that life is random and we must always be paying attention.  So much can happen as we sit in our homes, insulated from life beyond our domain.      I think I'll...

Just a week away from the Lake Wobegon Marathon! We had hoped for a much milder spring for training, so to say the least J'net and I are a bit under trained.  We did get in a solid last month in, a good 20 miler and a few solid paced runs. Race day we are shooting for a sub four hour finish, we'll just start out conservative and see how the race develops. Should be fun!

Shovel the sidewalk ...a to unge on the flagp ole par od y.      Please disregard my last posting...way too optimistic!      Today's 16 mile run with Dave was easy pace, but only 15' at the start, and a cool 18' by finish time. High's in the 30's for another week means more laundry to be done, more time to get ready and of course icy paths in the morning.      I still don't mind, it's such a blessing to be running nearly pain and injury free ( there's always something nagging, but right now things are ok ) that the cold and clothes are a  minor inconvenience. We've got a great area to run in, good friends to keep us motivated and a marathon on May 11 that reminds us "Hey, did you get a run in today?"      For those of you in warmer climes, enjoy the coolness of a 45' morning run and think of us here in Minnesota. We'll catch up later this year when you're running in 90' heat and we are stri...

     I have to admit, the last half of winter isn't really here yet, but on the other hand by the time mid-March arrives we are ready for tee shirts and shorts! Sure, we'll get some snow, but it will be in the 50's some days and the snow will melt quickly.      On my calendar winter is half over, and it's the tough part that's over!      Trails right now and for the next few weeks will be a constant variation; ice, snow, melt, slush, dry, water. We'll get it all but that's fine with me, it's a sign from Mother Nature that spring is on the way.      Am I starting the celebration too early? I think not. Running the past week it was 12' and it felt good. That means I'm adjusted to the cold and anything over 20' will feel like spring. I'd have to carry a water bottle for the heat if it gets over 30' this weekend!     I can dream. Soon enough the temps will be in the 40's every day and spring w...

PMB...Post Marathon Blues.  I'm sure it's a pretty common affliction, and for sure it's not limited to the marathon. It's caused by a training and racing season full of the very real psyco and phsio combinations that naturally occur due to the physical, mental and emotional elixir running delivers to the body, mind and soul. Whether the concoction is mixed for 5k speed or marathon endurance, it's an addictive potion that's hard to replace once the season is done.  You can't stay "in season" too long either. You need the dry spells, the recovery gaps that clean out the system and let the anguish of hill workouts, intervals and multiple-hour runs drain from your muscle memory, one easy run day after another. This slow leakage of the seasons workouts drips with scar tissue, mad sprints and long drives to the finish line. Natural blood doping at it's finest. It's not by chance our running seasons coincide with those provided by Mother N...

     Weird...two rain outs in the last four days and I don't feel guilty about missing runs. Guess that's another reason I'm so amazed at Mark Covert's continuous days running streak. Mark is now in his 45th year of running each and every day...yes, each and every day for 44+ years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Covert )      My oldest brother Al and Mark have been friends since their college days, running together and then coaching against each other for many years after. There are so many long runs in life; jobs, friendships, hobbies, annual 'things' we do/visit/ enjoy...it really wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of things that life ended pretty early for most folks. Short and hard with a brutal ending.       I feel lucky to be living in these times. So many things we can do, so many choices we can make. Could I have run on the rain out days? Sure, but I'm not a daily runner. Six days a week max is about a...