You mean everyone doesn't do this?

"The mind's first step to self-awareness must be through the body." - Dr. George Sheehan 

"Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they please." - Pythagoras 

"Make your life a mission - not an intermission." - Arnold Glasgow 

"One act of beneficence, one act of real usefulness, is worth all the abstract sentiment in the world.  Sentiment is a disgrace, instead of an ornament, unless it leads us to good actions." - Ann Radcliffe

If every run was like this, I'd sell my truck.

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." - Henry David Thoreau 

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe.
Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind,
Possessing and caressing me.

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
They call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind
Inside a letter box they
Stumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.

Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing
Through my open mind inciting and inviting me.
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns,
And calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world.

Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva

"I'm just trying to make a smudge on the collective unconscious." - David Letterman 

What is your favorite flavor of playdough?

Today was supposed to be my day off...

As rare as snow is in the South, a conundrum always presents itself whenever we are graced with the wintry precipitation, however light or brief. How should I most effectively go about enjoying an event of such rarity? On my trek into my office for a brief check on some research, I noticed that quite a few people were out and about making snowmen, having little snowball fights, and generally frolicking around in our all too fleeting winter wonderland. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the day, but I had already hatched something of an eccentric plan...

I had called Marcus Farris, a sophomore here at Auburn and running buddy of mine, and posed the question, "Are you up for doing something stupid?" Without hesitation, he indicated that he was ready and willing to try something out, so I posed to him the idea of going for a little run in the still-falling snow. In shorts and shoes.

Marcus wholeheartedly agreed to come along, so a couple of hours later, when the snow had actually accumulated a little and picked up in intensity, we set out in the least amount of clothing with which we could legally get away.

Our route was relatively short; it consisted of a lap around campus and back to my apartment, which amounted to approximately 3 miles. Within a couple of minutes of departing, we had been captured on both digital cameras and video, which seemed to be a recurring theme of the run. Whenever a new group of people saw us, they immediately began cheering us on and taking pictures, and with the excitement of the snow, quite a few people were out to observe the oddity of two mostly-naked guys running through the streets.

When we had made most of the campus circuit, Marcus and I turned down College Street to make a pass in front of Samford Hall, where many students, enjoying their snow day off from classes, had come to enjoy the scenery and take part in the aforementioned frolicking. That being the case, before long, we were having to dodge people, often catching them by surprise, and weave through the crowds in front of the campus landmark. After dodging a few snowballs thrown our way (and getting pegged by one or two...), we turned back home, and in short order were back in my nicely heated apartment.

I think Marcus summed it up best in the subject line of the email he sent with a couple of pictures we took, simply saying "The most epic 3 miles in a while."

It was supposed to be my day off, but sometimes you've just got to go out and play in the snow...

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live." - Thoreau 

"The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice" - George Eliot

So I think it's about time for another running stunt, except this time, I'm actually going to try to do some good with it...

Some of you might remember my participating in a part of the Run Across Alabama along with Eric Schotz (schotz.fastrunningblog.com) and Jon Elmore (jelmo.fastrunningblog.com) from the blog in an effort to raise money and awareness of Tay Sachs Disease, with which  Eric's son Elliott was diagnosed at 9 months old.  The run, which took place between July 1-4, eventually generated over $20,000 in donations to NTSAD, the National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases Association.

In about a month, I'll be running in the Delano Park 12-Hour Run, a race directed by Schotz and Elmore, in which I've been participating for the past few years.  The catch is that this year I'm planning on starting 12 hours early, making it the Delano Day.  I've never run a 24-hour event before, so I'm looking forward to a new experience, and I'm hoping to snag a new 100-mile PR.

Now, as much as I like stupid running stunts (and I think could legitimately be qualified as such...) for the simple sake of stupid running stunts, I figure that I might as well do some good for someone with this strange obsession.  To this end, I'm trying to raise a little more money for NTSAD through this latest contrivance.

I'm trying to get people to sponsor me on a per-mile basis for my run.  For example, I've already gotten a few families to pledge $0.25 per mile that I run that day; if I run 100 miles this will result in a $25 donation.  (Being in a college town, I'm suggesting a $0.10/lap donation for students wanting to get involved...)  I hope to run between 100 and 110 miles (flat course with aid as often as I'd like it)

If anyone reading this wants to contribute, please send me a private message, and I'll get you in the loop.  I can personally attest to the character of the entire Schotz family, so I think this is a very worthwhile cause.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask...

For what it's worth, the website for the race is http://delano12.com/.  Take a look...

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.  The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." - Calvin Coolidge  

Surprises are fun.

One bright day in the middle of the night,

Two dead boys got up to fight.

Back to back, they faced each other;

Drew their swords and shot each other.

A deaf policeman heard the noise,

Came and shot the two dead boys.

If you don't believe this lie is true,

Ask the blind man; he saw it, too.

"As we look deeply within, we understand our perfect balance.  There is no fear of the cycle of birth, life, and death.  For when you stand in the present moment, you are timeless." - Rodney Yee 

GPA : Coffee Cup : : Running Performance : ?

silent night

holy night

all is calm

say what?

and the beat goes on...

Short version:  Fun race; I kind of used it as a training run for my Delano Day in a couple of weeks, so I didn't really push it too hard...

Not as short version:

So I went into this race with the mindset of keeping it a training run.  Last year, I started the race running alongside a friend of mine, Dink Taylor, at a pretty aggressive pace, then proceeded to slow down for the entire second half.  This year, with the Delano Day , my "goal event," two weeks away, I decided to treat Cheaha as a good final training run, and I therefore intentionally ran the whole race at a decidedly more comfortable, conservative pace.

The race starts in a small gravel parking lot for a trailhead, and runners are immediately funneled into a singletrack trail, so to avoid getting stuck in a conga line at the start of the race that can potentially take around 2 or 3 miles to thin out, an ambitious runner must sprint out to the front few, which I did last year.  This year, in my effort to force myself to take it easy, I started in the middle of the pack and eased into the race.

The section before the first aid station has some considerable hills, which can quickly take "it" out of your legs, and quite a bit of passing occurs during this first, shall we say, introduction to the race...

The majority of the course is run along narrow, rocky, rooty, singletrack trails, which can be an adventure to traverse.  The ankles take a beating as runners traverse numerous rock gardens, often with the entire trail on a slant due to its location on the side of a mountain.  This, along with the fact that there probably aren't a cumulative 3 miles of flat running on the entire course, makes this race a relatively tough, slow 50k.  I love it.

This year was considerably drier than last year's edition; not nearly as much mud and running water along the course.  If someone wanted to keep his or her feet dry, he or she could do so, although in one or two spots, some substantial thinking (and rock jumping) might be required.  I, on the other hand, think that the main stream crossing of the race, somewhere around mile 20, feels great, and plowed right through the frigid water.  I was not disappointed, as the cool rush provided a nice bit of relief to my rock-beaten feet.

Whereas most of the course is along singletrack, a few miles are along some gravel and paved roads.  When, a few miles after the creek crossing, we got spit out of the trail onto the gravel road that leads to the paved road, I licked my chops.  Given my road racing, XC, and track background, whenever the technicality is taken out of a run and I can simply dial in a pace to hold, I can generally make up some time on most of the purely trail runners.  This came in handy with the almost constant incline that the roads held, during which, it is incredibly tempting to take walking breaks periodically, especially when you take a turn, and up above the trees, you see Mount Cheaha, which you are well aware that you must climb very shortly.  It's somewhat intimidating, realizing that you're legs are already trashed from running farther than a marathon and that you're taking more out of them now by running up a hill just to get to the trailhead to take you up the mountain, and then seeing the mountain and thinking "I've got to run up that?"  Again, I love this sport.

Once I got past the last aid station, I began my ascent of Mt. Cheaha, and it went relatively uneventfully.  Yes, it was steep.  Yes, it was somewhat difficult.  Yes, I was very glad to be at the top.  But I expected all of those, so it was, in a strange way, kind of easy to get through. 

Once I got to the top, just a few more minutes padding around the top of the mountain, and I was done. (and yes, although I almost forgot, I did manage a nice, jumping heel click at the finish...)  Another 50k in the books.  The funny part is that, even though I played around with this race and ran it with a much more relaxed attitude, I ran 10 minutes faster than last year.  Funny how all that works...

I managed to put in 14 today (Sunday), and soreness is about how you would expect.  2- weeks until the big one; on to Delano....

got to love back-to-back long runs...