Of Mice and Marathons

Now, you being a bright young man and all of that (PHD in English etc) one would expect you to know what's what, especially with a blog heading that reads, 'Of Mice and Marathons'.

Many might think that young JD is referring to John Steinbeck's brilliant novel, 'Of Mice and Men'. But they may not truly understand the genius and irony of your blog title. In fact, I know they will not get it. How can I be so confident, given that confidence is a shortfall of mine:)?

Well, first off, I doubt that even you comprehend the brilliance of your title. It's just as well I do: you will owe me after this:) So, here goes:

'The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!'

I suspect you know that John Steinbeck nabbed his title from the Robert Burns' poem. Here's the translation:

'The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often awry,

And leave us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!'

Fantastic stuff, my little mouse.

So, we all get the idea behind the blog title now. You can plan/scheme but things can go wrong and if things go wrong in the marathon, the pain is terrible etc.

(Important point here: many people say 'The best laid plans...' This is wrong: it is, 'The best laid schemes...')

So what? Well, master Dodge, your scheme has already gone awry and you are likely to suffer both physically and mentally - the humiliation is going to be awful.

But in steps Bam...

In your 'Upcoming Races' section, you have the Sugarloaf Marathon marked down as the 20th May, which is Monday. If you turn up on the 20th May, I fear you will not get a pr. I'll let you work out why:)

Just keeping you on your toes:)

Good to see the legs getting some pep back...just in time.

Good luck on your best laid plans, er, schemes this weekend!

I noticed the date thing was off too a few days ago - but Bam's discussion and build-up to pointing that out was simply brilliant.

Oh - and quit running so fast 4 days out. :)

(Just kidding)

Fresh legs are what you want on the 19th - good to hear they are coming back.

Thanks, Bam. I had those texts in mind, of course, as I was drinking (like an idiot) last night, mulling over many life issues of the non-running sort. The title came to me and I thought it was very smart, so I appreciate you picking up on it. I also appreciate the close reading of my race dates. The old saying "Half the battle is showing up on race day healthy" should also have "on the correct day" tacked on to it.

Joe: They are moving, but they feel funny after not running in the mornings. I imagine this means they are getting loose. Whatever it is, I hope it is positive (I think it is). Scheme or plan, may things work out!

Bret: I think I was basing the dates off of the prior year when I did those dates because a few of them are off I think. Too fast yesterday for 80 degrees, but I'm pretty sure I caught some harassment, but I was unsure as I had my ipod on (had to go back to it because of said harassment). First mile in 7:30, and then it was hard to slow down from there. I do sometimes start to run fast before a big race, though, and that lets me know I am good and ready. I imagine I will be dragging along in sensible fashion when I go out in a few.