Motivated to Succeed

Round 2, Day #64: 6 miles in 48:37; good for 8:06/mile. Virtually pain free. Toenails have stopped hurting, compression socks off, calf muscles were loose. Felt great! Going to see some good old fashioned "Whisker Wars" tonight in Worcester with Emily. Enjoyed just stretching out and running comfortably today. Flight is booked and paid for to Circular Logic. Now comes three hard weeks of training to get it right and PR and hopefully take a stab at going sub-4. I can do this!

The BART man runneth,
Thine power is a product
of thine own inner strength!

"Heh, my bedtime is earlier than most 10 year-olds." - Rachel Spatz

Round 2, Day #67: 5 miles in 40:50; 8:10/mile including 1 mile @ 6% grade. Felt strong throughout, but I need to get the motivation to run earlier. Hoping for a double tomorrow. Thinking 55 miles for the week is a bit ambitious. Is it the weekend yet? Feeling the stress of annoying end of trimester kiddos who are anxious to be sprung to their next classes, grading 70 final papers, AND report card comments this weekend. I have half a mind to just b.s. the comments and save some time for me. Looking forward to Friday's planning day! Ultrarunners unite!! Living for the weekend!

Mid-stride sneeze fest whilst
pounding up an incline. Man,
keeping your eyes open is too damn hard!
Well, I tried!

"Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease." - Jimmy Carter (1980)

Round 2, Day #68: 6 miles in 49:18. First 3 miles at 3%, 4%, and 5% incline. Second set of 3 in 23:17 (7:46 pace). Felt good to run. Enjoyed it very much. Happy that running is so cheap and easy to do. Wish more people did it! Not long now until my second trip to Indiana in hopes of coming close to a sub4 and hopefully a PR at Circular Logic. Not looking forward to the clusterfuck that this weekend shall bring with trying to read and grade final papers (68 of them), then writing report card comments and final grades, and prepping 2 new classes to start on day 1 of trimester 3 on Monday. It's really rotten to use a sick day, but I will probably use another sick day as a work catch up day once again. *coughcough*. In the midst of reading Ryan Hall's book. It's not bad but way too preachy and more of a low-level running log than anything else. Good thing I got it for like 3.00 on amazon. Oh well. He's still a great runner. Just not a great writer. Can't have it all!

F*ck the police, son!
You ain't my corporate boss!!
Back the hell up dude.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” - Mohandis K Gandhi

Day #69: 3.10 miles in 26:00, good for 8:23/mile. Read some of Ryan Hall's book as I ran. Really long stressful day at work and had a rough time adjusting and sitting down. Graded papers until 12:30am (Friday) before going to bed for a few hours, and then off again to the races for one more day. I am thoroughly exhausted this week!

Snow showers and sunshine,
Winter's almost gone, hooray!
That means it's summer!!

"You kind of just have to go with the flow." - Ryan Hall

Round 2, Day #70: 5 miles in 36:50. Did I just say that? It's been a while since I ran this fast! 7:22/mile. Finished Ryan Hall's book and grabbed a quick shower before going to see Michael and Ana to talk about setting up the WMURC!! So excited! Then home at 8pm for a movie date with Emma. What a long strange week it's been. Trying not to think about the endless amounts of crummy work I have to do this weekend. Tonight I will forget it, at least for now!

Fortitudine
Vincimus - By endurance
we conquer.

"Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started." - Steve Prefontaine

Round 2, Day #71: 9 miles total. 4 this a.m. at Kirvin Park with Emma. Nearly 50 degrees and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. Gorgeous weather. Lots of friendly dogs out there! Loved it! Then 5 this evening in 40:50 (8:10/mile). Left ankle has been hurting since a trial run on an elliptical machine, but thankfully it did not hurt while running. Ran in my Merrells today which was awesome! Had a mid-run sneeze at mile 2 and I swear I nearly died as I was already in the middle of exhaling and managed to exhale almost all the air from my lungs. So weird!

Somewhere there's a kid
Smiling because a fat guy
Sneezed and his shorts fell down!

"Running - Cheaper than therapy.. Sometimes." - me

Round 2, Day #73: 6 miles in 48:56, relaxed for 8:10/mile average pace. Work is going to have to take a back seat this spring. I am just not going to let it interfere. I hate to do it because I hate giving anything less than my best, but it's just too much for too little return. Work needs to be a 1 and family and running a 10. There will always be more jobs, but only one life to live and love and run!

Do goats sweat? They must!
Or at least their noses should.
I sweat more than a goat.

"...I learned how past civilizations had often stumbled-- and eventually fallen-- because, among other failures of foresight, they evidently didn't understand that growing the same crop year after year without allowing the soil to regenerate would cause crop yields to shrivel. A beet crop could exhaust the soil in three years. A patch of Amazon rainforest cleared for grazing could turn to barren desert in five years. The idea that cycles of rest and regeneration are essential to ecological sustenance became a basic part of my perception of life and strongly influenced how I trained in my running." Ed Ayres, p.24

Round 2, Day #74: 6 miles in 46:53 (7:49 pace). Lost 5# today but not in the way I wanted to. Ugh. Feeling run down. Need to take multivitamins and get a decent amount of sleep tonight and recoup and recover. Chest tightness and pain today while running. Stress? I don't know.

Unpleasantries are
hidden gifts that yield our best
efforts to overcome.

“The most important thing is to preserve the world we live in. Unless people understand and learn about our world, habitats, and animals, they won't understand that if we don't protect those habitats, we'll eventually destroy ourselves.” - Jack Hanna

Round 2, Day #75: 5 miles in 39:14, good for 7:51/mile. Relaxed and comfortable breathing through my nose. Scale says I put back on much of what I "lost" yesterday. Oh well. Getting close to taper time for next weekend's Indiana marathon. Can I PR? I think I can... I think I can!!

With footplants grows an
intrinsic, driven runner;
Nurtured into this!

"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable." - Sir Roger Bannister, first sub-4 minute miler

Round 2, Day #76: 4 miles only in 32:40, 8:10/mile. Nice, easy relaxing run. A lot of stuff on my plate right now and it's appetizing. Got to remember not to take more than I can chew. 

Tip toe through the stress,
Let it melt away.. peaceful.
Breathe. Relax. Zen time.

"I found them uncomfortable and after that I decided to continue running barefoot because I found it more comfortable. I felt more in touch with what was happening - I could actually feel the track." - Zola Budd

Round 2, Day #77: 4.5 miles on the bike path and golf course in Adams, MA (34:59, good for 7:46/mile) during a quick lunch break before professional development in the afternoon. Started on the bike path until it got to icy. Turned around and then did a quick 1.5 mile loop around the golf course. There were 3 x 50-60' of ice rink style parts I had to walk x 2 (out and back), but still averaged a good pace. Wore my NORWAY hat!

Hyped up squirrel bomb,
Ninja rolls down the hillside.
Twitterpated fuck!

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” 
― Andy Rooney

Round 2, Day #78: 10 miles in 1:21:24, good for 8:08/mile. Relaxed, breathed through nose the entire run. Weighed in at 214#. I am running more relaxed, stronger, and swifter than I ever imagined. This time next Saturday I will have finished marathon #16 and be on my way back to Indianapolis Int'l Airport, hopefully with a new PR. I can go sub-4:07. I know I can!

If Jesus ran he'd
be mistook for a girl in
his sandals and skirt.

"Tis impossible to judge with much Precision of the true Motives and Qualities of human Actions, or of the Propriety of Rules contrived to govern them, without considering with like Attention, all the Passions, Appetites, Affections in Nature from which they flow. An intimate Knowledge therefore of the intellectual and moral World is the sole foundation on which a stable structure of Knowledge can be erected." - John Adams to Jonathan Sewall, 1759

Round 2, Day #79: 7 miles; 5 miles with Michael and two new friends around the Arcadian Shop loop. Was 21 degrees. Had a blast and was fun, even in short shorts and the wind. We got one honk from a passing car.. I would like to think it was because of my sexy legs. Best part was that Michael gave me a banana to eat on the way home! Tasted so good! Got home and did 2 miles on the treadmill to warm up because I was pretty much an icicle! Now up to school to do work. Homemade guac with a Guinness tonight I think!

Hold fast in the wind,
Struggles bring bigger triumphs!
Conquer inner fears.

The ideal in the Lieh-Tzu is a state, not of withdrawal, but of heightened perceptiveness and responsiveness in an undifferentiated world. My mind concentrated and my body relaxed, bones and flesh fused completely, I drifted with the wind East or West, like a leaf from a tree or a dry husk, and never knew whether it was the wind that rode me or I that rode the wind. -The Book of Lieh-Tzu

Round 2, Day #79 (Part II): 4 miles in the evening relaxed pace in 35:01. Felt good to just breathe deep, get some light reading in and just relax and prepare to conquer this week. Possible snow day on Tuesday, half day on Friday and flying Friday night to Indiana for what I hope will be a new PR marathon. Got to keep the nerves in check and not do anything foolish this week. Maybe one "pace" run and try to dial in to a comfortable pace, but I think I can still push harder than I did the indoor marathon. With all those laps and turns, I think I can take at least the 7 minutes off and nab a sub 4 marathon. I know I can. I know I can! Now to relax for the evening and enjoy a Guinness Extra Stout and homemade guac!

Seltzer bubbles hurt,

when ingested through the nose.

Guinness where art thou?

"Extreme patience and persistence are required,

Yet everybody succeeds at this before being handed 

The surprise box lunch of the rest of his life." - John Ashbery 

Round 2, Day #80: 2 miles late at night in 15:40; good for 7:50/mile. Just a couple miles to get it done. This week is taper week so I am going to have to watch my diet and make sure I keep loose without pushing too hard or getting cocky.

Lemmings bring intrigue 
into stalwart youth and yet,
we follow the leader.

"Moments are what make up the character of either a lifetime or a long-distance run, not endless days or hours. I have no idea whether every minute I've ever lived - or spent on the road or trail - is actually recorded somewhere deep in my brain. Once in a while, something will pop into my consciousness after decades, and I'm surprised to discover that it was there all along. But I really don't care whether it's the tip of a Freudian iceberg or just a random fragment floating in a mostly empty storage space." - Ed Ayres

Round 2, Day #81: 4 miles relaxed in 34:44, good for 8:41/ mile. Finished Ed Ayres book after 3 hours of work up at school today planning out the rest of the week and the week in review quiz for Friday when I am out. What I love about Ed Ayres is that he just "gets it". He is a runner through and through and he tells it like it is. Though I don't know him I feel like we just ran together and he was there alongside chewing my ear off (in a good way). 

Patience grasshopper
One must practice before he
Takes the leap of faith.

"In almost anything worthwhile, and especially utrarunning, rushing to achieve success is a big mistake. Our culture has conditioned us to reflexively expect quick success. But quick success is the artificial, largely illusory, lure of an unsustainable civilization." - Ed Ayres

Round 2, Day #82: 4 miles easy recovery run in 35:00, good for 8:45/mile. Started reading a new book, Showdown at Shepherd's Bush by David Davis. Am really getting into it. Davis writes as if he is retelling the epic stories of years past, not seeking to reevaluate and rewrite. It's a nice change of pace. Marathon looms on the horizon!

 Quadriceps loosen,
Side step and stride over the
imaginary

"The earliest practitioners of the marathon race, invented in 1896, introduced a different kind of motion. At a time when competitive runners rarely ventured past five miles, and at a time when knowledge of the human body was primitive, they were pioneers of endurance. They were seen as superhuman or crazed or both." - David Davis 

Round 2, Day #83: 2 miles easy in about 17:00. Getting set and stoked for tomorrow's flight to Indianapolis. Hoping for big things this weekend at the marathon.

Boldly spearheading
a charge to smite the demons.
Push on towards greatness.

"The growth of sports could only have happened with the myriad innovations of the Industrial Age, when "[a] world of stone and wood, powered by animals, wind and water was completely remade into something entirely new, forged of steel and iron, and powered by steam, coal and oil."  

Round 2, Day #83: 1 mile only in 8:41 before finishing my packing and hopping on the plane bound for Indianapolis. Getting nervous about what is in store and what I will accomplish tomorrow. Praying for a smooth flight, turbulence free and void of any significant problems. Found out that the hotel is actually 20 mins in the WRONG direction, so I will be staying at the Super 8 - Indianapolis actually south of Indi. oops. Just makes for a longer commute to the race tomorrow. Hoping for a great race. I've done the training and hope that everything else comes together nicely.

Nerves govern actions
Mind over body... Relax.
Achievement is close!

"A promise must never be broken." - Alexander Hamilton 

Round 2, Day #85: 5 miles easy in 47:16. Legs don't actually feel too poorly. Worst feeling is going down stairs. I am looking forward to working with Jake and Justin to help take my training to the next level. Got to get smart to get faster!

Into the wild,
Young men's souls grow too restless
whilst cooped in an office.

"I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man." - Alexander Hamilton 

Round 2, Day #86: 4 mile recovery run in 37:45 right before bed. Legs feel a little better, but just so tired and beat! Have to force myself to get up early early to get everything that needs doing done. Today was a taxing day but an affirmation that like training, teaching is not easy but worthwhile in the long run. Excited at the potential that this year has in store for me. Going to reassert myself to work harder than ever for breakthroughs. 

Into the fog we
trudge, for the potential lies
inside inner doubts.

“If a man happens to find himself, he has a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.” - James Michener

Day #87: 4 miles in 37:30. MCAS is starting to take its toll but the kiddos are by and large pretty darn good!

Springtime fun it's just
so easy to celebrate
the little things dude!

"If you want more then you have to require more of yourself." - Dr. Phil 

Round 2, Day #88: 5 easy miles at 8:45 pace after work.

Dustbunnies hide from
condescending eyes.. quiet!
Is that a dust mop??!

Round 2, Day #89: 5 miles on the legs. Healing up rather nicely from the marathon it seems like. Now to concentrate on the next goal!

To think is to act
rather than to watch the world
pass you by.

"Judge others by their questions rather than by their answers." - Voltaire 

Round 2, Day #90: 5 miles - 3/4 of the way done with the challenge the second time around. Feeling stronger. Excited to be working with Jake and Justin soon to take my training to the next level and hopefully my weight down a level (or seven).

Popcorn buttmonkeys
Run and hide from the chasers.
Ruby gato surprise!

"It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one." - Voltaire

Round 2, Day #91: 10 miles. 7 miles with Emma going up Greylock on Cheshire-Harbor Trail in 1:15 and then plummeting down in :35 minutes. Probably just about the most fun I have had on a run in nearly a year! We were laughing, falling, sliding, and getting sucked in by the snow! When I got home I did another 3 in 27:30 (9:10 pace). At one point on the descent down Greylock we were hitting in the 6:30-7:00 range for a half mile! One lady said to me at the top, "I wish I wore shorts". Boy howdy. Gorgeous day. 50 degrees and sunny. Finished with some Bartlett's apple cider!

Sunshine paradise,
Until those snow traps of death!
Watch out for the poop!!!!

"All we ask is to be let alone." - Jefferson Davis

Round 2, Day #92: 7 miles recovery. Legs are sore from yesterday. Took it easy and ran in 1:03:33, good for 9:05 pace per mile. Tomorrow starts the official training plan. I need to get more sleep!

Glistening forehead
Shimmering sunlit shadows
Easter easy run!

"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights,even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door." - Jack Handy