A Character Building Run

"That's a character building run." Those are the words my Boston marathon training partner Michael used to sum up today's 76 degree, full-sun, 13-mile run. They're much more positive and uplifting than my summary statement upon finishing which was, roughly, "F*@%." 

Two weeks to Boston. Am I ready? I approach any race with three goals - baby goal, do-able goal, and "the stars and planets must align but there's still a shot" goal. My goals for Boston are thus:

• PLANETS ALIGNED: Beat my time in Chicago, so anything under a 3:44:02
• DO-ABLE GOAL: Come in under 4 hours
• BABY GOAL: Just finish

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Uwharrie Mountain Run... Not For Me

It's time to come clean. I am dropping out of this Saturday's 20-mile Uwharrie Mountain Run. There was a chance the race was going to be cancelled due to inclement weather and I hoped this might help me save face, but no such luck. An e-mail from the race director came through last night with the subject line "THE RACE IS ON!!"

Here are my reasons for backing out:

• We already have snow accumulation on the ground. As I type this, more snow and freezing rain is falling. Uwharrie is a treacherous run during dry conditions. Running downhill on loose gravel covered in ice scares me. 
• I'm not ready. I have done minimal trail running and no hill work. 
• I need an attitude adjustment. Running the mountain requires a big dose of "bring it!" attitude which is missing from my mental make-up. 
• I want a friend. It's more fun to suffer and struggle through one of these things when you have a partner to push you. 

I'm disappointed in myself. Sitting out the race because of the weather is probably the smart call, but I know that I lucked out with that excuse. I would have run it if the weather had been clear, but I know I'm not ready and I'm just as happy to have an excuse to bail. 

What I'm looking at for Saturday instead is a 20-mile run on the treadmill. I'm hoping I can get to Greensboro to run with the group but we'll see what Mother Nature holds in store for us.

Meanwhile, it's absolutely stunning outside. A fresh inch of snow on the trees and rooftops and big, fat, flakes continue to fall. 

I haven't given up. Next year, Uwharrie, be warned.

I'm comin' for ya. 

My First Long Run On A Treadmill

A new personal best: I ran 15 miles yesterday on the treadmill. I've never managed to go over 8 miles before, as extreme boredom usually kicks in around mile 6. But this was the maiden voyage of the new Sole F80 treadmill, which helped, as did the fact that it was 16 degrees--9 degrees with the wind chill factored in--outside and I wanted no part of that madness. (Even though the vast majority of my running friends made it outside for their runs yesterday. I hang out with some hard core people.) 

Blair unwittingly enabled me to meet my goal. Friday night I checked the forecast and decided to stay in and run the next day. "I'm scheduled for 15," I said. "That's over 2 hours on the treadmill. Do you think I can do it?"

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