Test Drive

* On Saturday I will be running the last "third" of the Burning River 100 course with Kurt and Steve. Although I have run 26.2 before, running 34.3 will prove to be interesting. First I am going to learn to take it easy. Second...learn to eat while I run. Lastly I hope to get a good sense of running the final miles in the dark. We should finish around midnight to 1am if all goes as planned. Jo was sweet enough to offer to crew for us. She will meet us twice along the way with supplies. I am also going to bring along my camera phone and take photos. I will attempt to post the photos directly to our photo album site. You can check them out between 3pm and midnight this Saturday.

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How far was that Marathon?

* Uhh...26.2 miles. This is a question I get alot from people at work. We all have our hobbies that most others could care less about. Mine is running. So as I head out at lunch each day to run, I think about how passionate my friends and co-workers are about their particular hobbies, and about how little I really know about them. I will work on that this year.

* Marathon and Beyond - So after dropping out of my last marathon attempt due to some sort of flu bug, what is next? Why a 100 mile race of course! I think this is going to be more about survival than running. I just think if I am ever going to ATTEMPT anything of this magnitude....now is the time to do it. Especially when it is local. I have already decided to scribble "Patience" on my left hand and "Damage Control" on my right. You can get all of the gory details here - > www.burningriver100.org

* School is out in about 11 days. Summer is almost here. We belong to Loyal Oak Lake. I am also kicking around the idea of re-joining Fort Island pool. So we will have a pool and a pond. A pond would be better for you.

* My Deaf Dog - Tiny is totally deaf now. The squirrels in the backyard taunt him. I wouldn't be surprised to see one sling an acorn his way.

* Maddie had a bridge ceremony with her Brownie Troop. She has graduated to Junior Girl Scout. Must mean higher cookie quotas next year.

* Logan's girlfriend set the school record for the mile last week at 5:15. She has relationship bragging rights. Rock on Shannon!

* The sunflowers that Jo and I planted are starting to grow. The backyard should look pretty cool once that are 8 feet tall.

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Living like a Kenyan

I participated in the Fifth Third River Bank Run on Saturday in Grand Rapids, MI. The race was the USATF National 25K Championships and I was able to go because of my affiliation with Team Good River (special thanks to Tim Budic who continually drives the team forward). TGR had received free entries and elite status. What a cool race. Great day, great town, great course. A perfect prequel to the Cleveland Marathon on 5/20. Best of all was getting to hang out with the likes of Greg Meyer, Bill Rodgers, and the best young American distance runners. The Brooks-Hanson team was strong, but TGR held its own. I think this would be a great club trip for 2008. We were treated like Kings from the special suite of our own before the race to the elite athletes area at the finish line. Very cool.

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Out of the Target Demographic

* I went to see Spiderman 3 with my son Logan last night. Clearly I was the oldest one there by 20+ years. No problem. I am used to that with most of the runners I compete against. About 1 hour into the movie I realized that everyone else was enjoying the movie way more than I was. I quickly realized that I am no longer in the target demographic. The old man in me started thinking it was too cheesy, needed to be shortened, and very predictable. I probably have more in common with "Uncle Ben" than I do "Peter Parker".
* The Cleveland Marathon is in two weeks. This is the toughest time in marathon training. You just want the race to get here. Unlike a 5K or any race under 10 miles, your window of opportunity is very narrow to run well. You just don't bounce from marathon to marathon. I think I am going to skip the Fall marathon season and really focus on the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in December. Wedged between will be the Burning River 100 mile race in August.
* A great new airline is about to bloom. Check out SkyBus.com. If you can get to Columbus...they fly to a few cities for as low as $10 each way. Great concept.
* I highly recommend the new Nine Inch Nails CD - Year Zero. Sounds alot like their darker, earlier stuff. Guess I haven't completely left that demographic.

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