Motivation

Three weeks in and I'm just now posting this today. I'd intended to post this back when I started but life got in the way - speaking of life, still in a holding pattern on the house, appraisal was last week, new furnace is being installed tomorrow, and we're hoping that we might be able to close on Thursday.

Whenever I need a little bit of a kick in the ass to get my run in all I need to do is just look up above the computer:

It keeps me on track, and this past week I needed it. Only logged 14 miles thanks to a mishap at work (I'll spare you all the details) that prevented me from running for a few days. All better now so I'm hoping for a better week this week.

Phase I, Week #4, Jan 28-Feb 3
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 5 miles
Saturday - 10 miles
Sunday - 6 miles
Total: 37

Still basebuilding, but this week I am supposed to add in some strides at the end of 2-3 runs. The weather is supposed to be a bit better this week and I'm hoping I might be able to get outside at least once or twice this week.

In My Haste...

I forgot to add one part to the previous post about friends...I was busy and distracted here at work, so I want to add it now:

We should be thankful for our friends in life, and we should be willing to tell them what they mean to us. Even if that means we tell them that we love them...especially if it means we tell them we love them.

Friends, Part III

A recent post by a friend on kickrunners has prompted some thinking here on my part about friends and friendships again, hence the "Part III" above.

Friendships flow and ebb over time, you meet new friends that fill holes in your life (whether you knew that hole was there or not) or that take the place of a friendship that has changed. Friends and friendships are dynamic basically.

During a discussion with the aforementioned friend I made the comment that while the duration of the friendship shouldn't be overlooked entirely, the intensity of the friendship - what that person means to you - is pretty important as well. At least to me it is...I have been friends with people going on 15 years now and they mean a lot to me, but at the same time some of those friendships have ebbed due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, and in the last two years or so I've made new friends that mean the world to me.

I guess what I'm saying is that I've realized every friendship is different and we shouldn't try and compare one to another.

I just feel fortunate at this point in my life that I have people that are willing to stand up and say to the world that they are my friend.

Long day yesterday prevented me from posting this like normal on Sunday night, but hey, we have lots to do in order to be ready to make some changes on this house we're buying and we spent Sunday out shopping/pricing!

Last week was a pretty good week of running, and most of that I owe to having the treadmill. It hasn't been safe to run outside for about four days, and this week doesn't look promising either.

Plan for this week (week #3):
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 5 miles
Saturday - 10 miles
Sunday - 6 miles
Total planned: 37 miles

Now the only thing I need to do? Find DVDs to watch while running on the treadmill.

Submission

Offered submited on the house. Waiting patiently to hear something...anything...did I mention I'm a bit freaked out?

Big News

T and I may found a house today. We're going to put an offer in on it.

I am totally freaking out.

That is all.

One Down, Twenty-three To Go

End of the running week for me. I stuck to the schedule this week and ran six days this week for a total of 33.6 miles. Even managed to get outside for all but two of those runs (and those were partly due to laziness). Felt good.

This week the schedule is pretty much the same:

Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 5 miles
Saturday - 9 miles
Sunday - 4 miles

I might end up switching Saturday/Sunday depending on how early I want to get up since I have a home game to cover on Saturday afternoon.

So far, so good. But, then again it's only week two.

Something To Think About....

You want to do something nice for you wife or girlfriend what do you do? You buy them flowers. There isn’t a woman alive whose face won’t break out into a big smile when you walk through the door with flowers for her. She might think you’ve done something wrong and are trying to make up for it, but even then there will be a split second where she smiles!

The problem is this though…what’s the guy equivalent to flowers?

After much introspection and thought on the subject I do believe T has solved the problem. The guy equivalent is beer. Beer you say? Yes, beer. But not ordinary mass produced American lagers that you find at the corner mega-mart, but good beer that is produced by smaller breweries, full of flavor and color, and that might cost more than the average lite beer because of the things I just listed.

I came home the other night from work – just an ordinary day, nothing spectacular. T met me at the dining room table like she always does, with a big smile on her face and told me she had something for me, guy flowers, and handed me a bottle of Stone Brewery’s Ruination IPA, a very lovely beer.

So this act of kindness from her cemented two things for me:
1) Beer = guy flowers
2) T is the greatest

24...

Twenty-four weeks, or 165 days, and counting...counting towards what you ask? Well, let me tell you: I started training for my first, hopefully of many, marathon today and race day is 24 weeks, or 165 days, away.

Yeah, yeah, I know - the counter over there ----> counting down to when registration opens will be replaced with one counting down to race day, but only after I register.

And yeah, I'm a bit nervous/excited about the prospects of this whole thing.

First of 2008

First book read in 2008: The Alchemist

I just finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and I have been digesting it for a day or two now. The book talks about how “the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.” - It being your destiny or Personal Legend.

I’ve always believed that in life things work out the way they are supposed to…for example, in my own personal time on this planet:

My first job out of grad school was not the best job; it was in an out of the way place and the school was located in a very, very small, rural town. There was no healthy social life to speak of…I’ve often referred to it as the longest 18 months of my life. However, if I hadn’t met some of my coworkers there I would not have been in the position to transition to my second job.

My second job was much better personally and professionally, but the key event of my tenure there was a trip to Nashville that some of us took in late August, 2000. That was the night that I met T.

Call it fate, destiny, or life conspiring to get me where I needed to be I truly believe that the events of October, 1997, through July, 1999, put in motion a series of events that placed meeting T in my path. I won’t go so far as to say it was fate we ended up together – it took too much work on my part to convince her to continue to go out with me!

I remind myself of this when I find myself questioning “why did I do this?” Why did I take that job in Oregon where I had to drive 52 miles one way to work? Because by taking that job I was able to impress the AD at the high school and then he helped me get the job in Eugene.

Things work out like they are supposed to.

The book also talks about omens, and paying attention to them. I’ve been thinking about that and in all honesty, that is the part I’m still digesting. More on that later.

Now The Hard Stuff Starts

Made it through the week. I had six runs scheduled, and I completed the plan for the week. 28.3 miles for a total. I even managed to make it outside to run twice.

However, this past week really wasn't directed at anything more than getting me ready for the upcoming week...Week 1 of marathon training!

Schedule for the week of Jan 7, 2007:
Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 5 miles
Saturday - 8 miles
Sunday - 4 miles

Ask And You Shall Receive

Sometime in November I sent out an email to 20 or so friends - some people I know from professional interaction, some personal, some I've only met on the internet, but all friends - and asked them to recommend books for me to read. Any genre of the person's choosing, just books they enjoyed and thought someone else should read. A few of them asked me to send them the list when it was compiled, so here is that compiled list, in no particular order.

Lovely Bones
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Three Cups of Tea
The Enders Game Series (recommended by three people)
The House of Sand and Fog
Skinny Dip (recommended by three people, one of whom said anything by Hiaassen)
Lonesome Dove
The Stand
The Winds of War
War and Remembrance
A Walk In The Woods
Magical Thinking
Naked (recommended by two people, and one said anything by Sedaris)
Water For Elephants
Duel in the Sun
The Bridge of Sighs
Friday Night Lights
Wittgenstein's Poker
1421: The Year China Discovered The World
The Boys From Brazil
Freakonomics
Congo
Angels & Demons
Rendezvous With Rama
A Brief History of Time
What is the What?
The Sparrow
Tigana

I've read some of the books on the list, and while I may not read all of them there are certainly some that I will definitely read.

For everyone who responded thanks...for those of you who didn't (one in particular) it isn't too late!

Accountability

I'm posting this here so that anyone who reads this on a regular basis will help me stay the course as I train for the marathon in June. If you don't see the run over on the right in the log let me have it.

Here is this week's schedule:

Tuesday - ran 4 miles
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 5 miles
Saturday - 4 miles
Sunday - 7 miles

All are supposed to be easy, or base building, runs. From the looks of the weather all of them might be on the treadmill.