Columbus it is.

I sent in my registration for the Columbus Marathon yesterday. Unfortunately Teresa is working the weekend of the race but with so much else happening in the weekends leading up to and following Columbus, it's about the only one open for me. The race won't be the same without my biggest supporter waiting for me at the end and snapping photos throughout! The only race Teresa's missed since I picked up running four years ago is the 2003 Buffalo Marathon. My parents were with me that day and boy was it a tough day. Fresh off of my first marathon in Cleveland the month before, the marathon bug hit me hard and left me all but staggering to the finish line in Buffalo. I'm looking for a bit of redemtion this year in Columbus. I'm not too worried about finishing under a certain time, but more about running a good race and having some juice in the tank to run the final 5-6 miles consistent with the rest of the race.

I've continued running hills on Tuesday and tempos on Thursday. The weekend runs have been a little off from where I should be but I have 3 more 20-milers planned and a great running partner to do them with. I'm also back to doing 120-150 push-ups a night along with some dumbell curls and/or lateral arm raises along with some ab-work to help strengthen my core (and to look ripped up in those finish line pics!).

So Columbus it is... Maybe this year I'll actually notice Ohio State's football stadium when I run by it. It's a hard thing to miss but I managed to do so last year.

...on becoming an early bird

I truly believe my life would be better if I was a morning person. I'm at a point in my life where there's no longer a need to be a night owl. I just can't flip the switch though. Sometimes I get the overwhelming urge to throw a movie in late at night almost as if to say, "I'm gonna stick it to "the man" tomorrow by being tired and non-productive all day". However, I always end up falling asleep ten minutes into the movie and my rebellious attitude dissipates as quickly as my dreams appear. I have committed three days a week to waking up early to run with a small group that I trained with leading up to the most recent Boston Marathon. It's funny how I can be on my fourth hill repetition at 6AM on Tuesday morning and come Wednesday at 6AM I'm praying to God that I set my alarm clock wrong the night before. It can't possibly be time to get up already!! I like the person I am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Now, I either have to work on those other 3-4 days (I deserve at least one day of sleeping in), or accept that I'm not a morning person, I'm never going to be a morning person and it's perfectly normal that I feel and act like the Incredible Hulk in mid-transformation most mornings.

With all that said, I had a great week of running last week including 8 miles of hill work, a 9 mile tempo run and a 14 mile long run to cap off the week.

A Memorable 24 hours

The weather around here has finally started to cool off a little so at 9PM on Monday night I decided to go out for an easy 4-miler. On my drive over to the start of my route, I called Cathy and committed to getting up early Tuesday AM to run hills with her and Kevin. I had also planned on doing a track workout on Tuesday evening per my FIRST schedule.

Monday 9PM - Felt great running around Westlake for an easy 4 miles (27:12).

Tuesday - 4:30AM came a little early but I managed to get out the door in time and was climbing my first hill by 5:05AM. We did 8 miles total on a course that's best described as a long half pipe. Up, down, up, down.... repeat. (58:56).

Tuesday - 6:30PM, 2x800, 2x400, 2x800, 2x400*

*Final 400's were done as a relay. Liz and I combined to run a 5:12 mile!!

800 - 2:54:07
800 - 2:44:95
400 - 1:18:23
400 - 1:14:72

800 - 2:54:46
800 - 2:42:57
400 - 1:09:66
400 - 1:09:74

The track workout went great! I felt some minor abdominal cramping every now and then, but nothing that stopped me from running hard. Looking back at our times, we were really consistent.

Afterwords, Liz and I went for some Italian grub down in Little Italy where the Feast of the Assumption was still going on. We grabbed some to-go cavatelli and took it to Teresa at work. She thanked us by accidently spilling this nasty smelling liquid on Liz's arm while forcing her to take a whif. Luckily it was something that Teresa's patients drink so it didn't burn a hole through her skin!

Roughly 18 miles in less than 24 hours. I need some sleep!

Summer Blues

Every winter I sit and wait for the summer to arrive and promise myself that I'll spend as much time outside as humanly possible. This past winter was no different and although you could never tell from my complexion, I have spent a lot of time soaking up the sun in what has been a very unusual summer to date. My parents fell victim to what is now being called the flood of the millenium in Painesville. 90°F weather has plagued the nation for weeks at a time sending electric companies into crisis mode and leaving annoying messages on my voicemail.

It's these reasons that have made me feel less burdened at the fact I haven't been following my training schedule nearly as close as I should be. I have, however, continued to swim on occasion and have pounded out some pretty impressive bike rides of late. I've been impressed anyway! I swear my legs must have thought I was applying cruel and unusual punishment to them in France because they've been a lot more dependable on the bike, especially on hills.

I've got a tempo run planned this evening and am hoping I come out of it feeling like a runner again. Afterwards, in case the run doesn't build up my confidence, I'm going to hang my Boston Marathon posters up in what's slowly but surely becoming my trophy room.