I feel the need... the need.... FOR SPEED!

Speedwork tonight! Yea! It felt so good to get out on the track and let the big dogs eat. Stretch out the legs, loosen up the arms, and test out the old lung capacity. I did 3 x 1600 on the track tonight with an 800 meter jog in between. I love mile repeats! They have been my favorite speedworkout since high school and I still love them. A mile is just the right distance for me. Just long enough to be a challenge and just short enough that I can open it up let the engine run at full speed.

After my 1 mile warm up jog over to the high school track, I ran the first mile in 6:31 which was quite a bit faster than I had planned. I have such a hard time holding back when I'm on the track. After my 800 jog I ran the second mile in 6:51 which is right about where I wanted to be for tonight's workout. Another 800 jog and I busted out the last mile in 6:29! I was so happy with that I had to take a picture.

I had Ryan Adams blasting on the Ipod and I was flying! The leg hurt a little but nothing too serious. I had a great time I wish you all could have been there with me.

I snapped a few pictures on the way home of the Oklahoma sunset. SOME people will like it because the sun is blocked out by the clouds. I personally like it better when the sun lights up the entire horizon of a clear sky but to each his (or her) own. It is a beautiful night here, about 65 degrees and very little wind. I think it hit 70 today but I wouldn't know because some genius from our other office decided to schedule a meeting at 3 P.M. so I couldn't sneak out of work early to enjoy the afternoon! Who are these people that would do something like that. Nothing good can happen after 2 P.M.! Doesn't everyone know that? No meetings after 2, it's in the rules somewhere. That time moves up an hour for each 5 degrees about 70 also. It's a mathematical law.

Anyway, things are going much better for me now that the week is almost over. The week really wasn't as bad as I thought but I am still glad it's over.

Rest tomorrow and then it's the Deer Creek Classic 10K, the first race of the triple crown. Can't wait.

Good luck in the Napa marathon RBR. We're all pulling (or pushing) for you!

Thanks for listening

Back on Track

Decided that it's time to get back on my marathon training schedule so I ran 7 miles today in 55:07. That's pretty fast for me but, Oh my goodness I felt GREAT! It was hard to hold back. When I got back I found my son playing Guitar Hero so I took some video of him rockin' out. I love that game, I only wish they had more '80s hair bands on the playlist. The kids today are so spoiled. I only had air guitar when I was growing up.

I signed up for the Triple Crown of March racing last night. The three races that make up the Triple Crown are the Deer Creek Classic 10K which is this weekend, the Panera Beacon on the Bay 25K on March 8th, and the St. Paddy's Day Great Race of the Great Plains 8K on the 15th. You get a special shirt if you run all three (and we all know that we run for T-shirts!) so I decided to give it a try. If nothing else it will be fun.

Thanks for listening

There's no place like home, except California

I’m on my way home from California today. I had a GREAT trip, probably the best ever. We accomplished everything we needed to and I got a great run in at the beach (see pics below). I also got to meet Southbay girl for fish tacos! It is amazing to me how small this world is sometimes. When I began blogging I never intended to meet new people. I had only hoped to capture my thoughts and feelings so I could have them for later. It has turned into this wonderful world of interesting people and really opened my eyes to how much we love RUNNING. I love being around runners. It is great to be around people that have the same problems, concerns, loves, and desires that you have. Even if we live thousands for miles away from each other. I hope I have made a friend for life, I hope Southbay girl doesn’t run away and hide from the internet after meeting me, I hope I can come to California and always know someone who I can hang out with, I hope if you ever come to Oklahoma you will look up SeeWillieRun and let me show you around, and I hope we all keep running forever.

I ran 8.5 miles along Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo beaches yesterday. It was a little chilly and I only brought shorts and a short sleeve T-shirt so I was a little cold until I got warmed up. There was a strong breeze coming off the ocean but I was running perpendicular to it so it never bothered me much. There is so much to see along the strip. The houses are amazing (amazingly expensive probably) and I am sure I passed a celebrity. I tried to take pictures of everyone just is case they were a celebrity (shameless tourist from Midwest). I saw people playing volleyball, I saw homeless people, I saw couples with children, I saw old men and young women, I saw airplanes taking off from LAX, I saw boats out at sea, I saw birds hanging on the breeze, I saw skateboarders and rollerbladers, I saw beautiful cliffs down south and horrible smokestacks up north. I watched the sun fall into the ocean and the lights of the city streets come alive. It was an amazing panoramic theater of life. I wish I could do it everyday but I would fear it wouldn’t be special after awhile. Wonderful things in life sometimes have to remain brief in order to remain wonderful. I’ve always hated that about life.

As I said, I ran 8.5 miles in 1:16 minutes. That’s great except that I had only planned to run 6 miles in about an hour. You might think, “Great Willie, you did more and felt good what’s wrong with that?” Well, I only fed the parking meter 1 hour and 15 minutes worth of quarters. As I was finishing my run I noticed a meter maid driving by in her little golf cart. She waved at me and I waved back. That wave cost me $30! I got a parking ticket!!! I was only about 3-4 minutes late and I ran extra so shouldn’t the people of Manhattan Beach congratulate me? I am going to pay the ticket with a note describing how much I love the city and how good my run was, I may even include pictures. I figure if the meter maid was nice enough to wave at me we may as well keep the whole process of screwing me on a friendly level until the end. I’m actually proud of the ticket; it shows that I did more than I had planned. It’s proof that I exceeded my expectations. Spend my money well Manhattan Beach.

Spirit of the Marathon

As did probably many others tonight, I saw Spirit of the Marathon down in Burbank. The movie was great, but you know what struck me more was that the theater was full. I had to move seats twice to allow people to fit in. Who would have thought that many people would pay to see a movie about people running. I also fell in love with seeing movies in California. People cheered, clapped, and laughed throughout the movie! Maybe this is not surprising to you, but for a midwesterner it's shocking! People are much more reserved in the midwest. I love it! It made the movie so much better. I was in tears by the end.

I also have a new love, Deena Kastor is wonderful! How amazing is she in this movie? Don't get me wrong, Paula Radcliffe is still my one and only running crush but Deena is right up there too.

I've got ice on my leg now and am hoping tomorrow's run doesn't hurt. I spent the day on my feet so maybe that's why my leg is aching a little. We'll see.

Thanks for listening

California or Bust

Well here I am jetting across the southwest on my way to LA. Early morning flights are great heading west because you are chasing the moon and racing the sun. Right now I have a great view of a bright moon and if I look back I can just see the sun beginning to rise above the horizon. I wish you could see it. If you’re a romantic with your head in the clouds like me you would be searching for some significance to events like this. The logically engineer in me is saying that this happens everyday and I’m just not here to see it. But isn’t that the point of most events in life, being there. Remember how hard it was to get off the couch and head out for that first run. The effort put forth in that run probably doesn’t compare to the effort needed just to get you out there to do it. Being there is the most important thing. Does the sunset still happen if you don’t see it? Yes but isn’t it so much better when you do get to see it and make a memory?

My flight attendant on this flight, Tracy (Tre), is from Colorado. I got to know her as she brought me my 5th cup of coffee. She is extremely young and pretty so I decided to try and set her up with my son. Sure he’s only 13, but hey, he could use all the help he can get! Turns out she was much older than she looked so there probably isn’t a chance but you never know.

I’ve got Billy Joel on the Ipod keeping me company and I’m dreaming of running in the sunshine. The problem is we are nearing California and all I can see are clouds. In fact, we are between two cloud layers now so I don’t think there’s much of a chance for sunshine.

The sun has finally caught us from behind; I caught a good picture of it so you can share the moment. I guess this means my day has to officially begin. Billy is done singing and I should probably get some work done on this laptop instead of writing in my blog. Tracy’s back to tell me to put this thing away so now I have no choice.



Thanks for listening.











UPDATE:


So now I'm here in sunny California but wait... what's this... it's not SUNNY! IT'S RAINING! UHGG (but it's not cold). Caught some cool pictures of the rain coming across the mountains today thought I would share. It's actually stopped raining so I'm off to run.
















Back from my run. 6 miles in 49:03. I could feel my thigh but I wouldn't call it pain. It was just letting me know it was there. I felt really good so I had to try really hard to hold back and run easy. I have ice on my leg now but I didn't bring my chinese liniment. Tomorrow is an off day and then I will hopefully get to run on the beach Friday! Pray for sunshine.

What's on Willie's Playlist

I ran again today! 6.25 miles in 51 minutes with my friend from work. I was sitting in my office today when, let's call him Jim, came by and asked me if I wanted to go to the gym and lift weights before we ran. I thought sure, what the heck. Well, what the heck was an hour of pure Willie hell that's what!! I swear this guy is going to kill me before he's done. I had to do inclined bench presses, declined curly things, upside down - declined push downs, hang from your fingernails-inclined-curl-fly-push-up-downs, and whatever else this master of dumbbells could throw at me. He kept asking me if he had put too much weight on for me, No the veins in my face always bulge like this! I kept asking him when we could get to the running, that’s easy. His answer never pleased me. I was also the smallest guy in the place. One time when I was resting against the wall, a guy mistook me for a barbell and tried to put weights on me! I just hope I didn’t intimidate any of those giants with my enormous endurance. I’m sure they noticed my excellent running form and were impressed. I don’t belong in gyms.

So anyway on my run today I fired up the old IPod just for some background music. I also discovered a new favorite running song. Who Knew by Pink is great for running. I found myself singing along at one point. I don’t what it is about a song but sometimes they can hit me right and I just get into them on a run. As I was thinking about this I began to also wonder about what I listen to while I run. My playlist tonight consisted of Pink which I already mentioned, then The Foo Fighters, The Pretender, also a great running song. I then moved on to some Michael Buble’ Save the last dance for me, followed by some Garth Brooks To Make You Feel My Love (Live), since he lives down the road in Yukon and then some Motley Crue Wild Side and Same old Situation. Next I enjoyed some David Gray, The One I Love, and then some Metallica (I don’t remember which but they were good). There may have been a Kelly Clarkson song in there also (can’t help it I love her!). So now you know what Willie listens to when he runs. I actually don’t like to where my IPod much while running because it just gets annoying after an hour or two. Sometimes I will download some podcasts of A Prairie Home Companion by Garrison Keeler and listen to them on long runs. He is so good and has that great voice which I could listen to forever. It’s the kind of voice you can get lost in. Ok I’ve bored you enough with my playlist. Maybe it can give you some insight into my soul, maybe it will just confirm for you that I’m out-to-lunch, or maybe you will see that I’m open minded musically and have a vast array of musical interests. I like that last one, makes me seem high-class!!! Or maybe full-of-crap.

Now I’m off to finish Gone with the Wind which is on TCM right now. That’s the reason this bog sucks, I’ve been watching Scarlet O’hara defend Tara from those nasty Yankees! Rhett Butler is my hero. He’s such a mans-man.

As God as my witness, I’ll never stop running again!!!
Ok a little dramatic but so good.

Thanks for listening

How flat is Oklahoma?

Just a little rubbing it in to someone who right now hates hills. Here are some pictures of my current state of residence that should give you a good idea of it's "pancake-ness"

A run with my son

I have decided to start giving daily weather reports since some people (Californians) can't seem to stop commenting about 50 degrees being cold! Today started out in the low 20's with some light snow. By midday it was up to almost 40 and the sun had broken through the clouds which makes it very pleasant. It's not supposed to get much warmer but the clouds are going to clear out completely which will make for a nice crisp night.

I went out of my first run in a week today about noon (39 degrees). My son decided to come with me because his track practice begins a week and he wants to get in shape. Oh for youth when you can start a sport a few weeks early and be in shape by the time it starts. We did an easy 3 miles and I felt ok but could definetly tell I hadn't run in awhile. Everything seemed tight and resistive to motion. I took it very easy and the leg didn't hurt much. The wind was really "sweeping down the plains" today from the North which made it hard going out but nice coming back. Hope to get another easy 3 in tomorrow and maybe I can call this a recovery. Thank you to all who have suffered through the last weeks with me. Sorry I haven't had anything funny to share but give me a few days and I will be back in true "Willie" form.

Thanks for listening

Frigid Five Pics

Here are some more pictures from the Frigid Five. Notice my son's long stride as he cruises to the win. I was one proud papa!! The little one ran/walked the mile also. He has major issues with his hips and legs so running may be difficult for him in the future but he doesn't care. He just throws his legs out and lets them fly! He'd make a great ballet dancer but daddy would have to take major medication to deal with that.

A Conversation with me

"My leg feels fine today, I could run a mile or two"

"No, No, No, No, don't you remember what happened on Monday?"

"But I would take it easy and stop as soon as it hurt"

"Yea but by then the damage is done, it's a bad idea"

"I'll never break 4 hours in the OKC marathon if I don't train"

"You won't finish the OKC marathon if you DO train on a bad leg"

"So I'm supposed to just do nothing? That's like giving up!"

"This is teaching you something, oh, I don't know.. maybe PATIENCE?!?"

"But what if it never heals? What if this is a sign that I'm not supposed to run or that I have my
goals set too high? I'm not sure I could deal with that."

"I don't think that's true and I think your blowing this way out of proportion, just rest and be patient. If you don't make OKC you will get the next one."

"Bad option! If I don't run I'll gain weight, get weak, and have to start from the beginning again. Don't you remember those horribly painful 6 mile runs back when we were beginning? I don't want to go through that again."

"Blowing-out-of-proportion!!!"

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are"

"Ok, but..... am not"

"You are such a child"

"I could run today, I know it. Just a little bit today, take a day off, then another little bit. I'll call it active rest."

"Why can't you just relax? You're only making this worse, and, by the way, there are people listening now and they don't want to hear your childish rants"

"Yes they do, they understand unlike you!"

"You need a doctor"

"I went to the doctor and he didn't help at all! He never even called back with the X-ray results."

"Not that kind of doctor"


Thanks for listening

Everyone's running but me

So now I have another friend at work who has taken up running. He came by my office today to show me his new shoes and ask when we could go for a run. Boy did he pick a bad day! I almost broke down in tears when he asked. I don't think he was ready for the outpouring of emotion that I gave him. He gave me that look that said "Wow you're a freak" and hastily left. He hasn't run enough to understand yet so I will give him a break this time. Actually, now that I think about it, I see that "Wow, you're a freak" look a lot, humm, wonder why?

Work has been really busy this week. The work just seems to keep building up. Maybe I should do some of it? Nahhhh! I've got blogs to write, Pilates to do, and many other things to get done before I can think about work. Man I'm tired!

Spent the evening with Blondie again. I have found that if I intentionally do the moves out of order I can stand her. It's something about obvious disobedience that allows me to deal with her constant griping about pointing my toe this way or pushing my butt that way. She's so demanding that she is just begging me to disobey. It's my civic duty to stand up to oppression in all forms. If I let her push me around then the whole world could become enslaved to brutal Pilate dictators. Then where would we be? Just a bunch of ripped, well-toned, in-shape machines that walk around looking great. Hey, maybe we should re-think this.....

No running for me until at least Saturday. I may hit the stair-climber-turned-elliptical-thingy tomorrow for an hour or two. Maybe it can bring out some endorphins. Whatever, it won't be the same. Now I'm off to shop for Chinese liniment.

Thanks for listening

I am the stupidest man alive

Disclaimer: This episode of See Willie Run contains no humor and is not intended for adults who have grown out of juvenile temper-tantrams and pouting. Those with common sense may be offended.

Is it OK to start a blog with a string of expletives? %$#@# #@%# *&%##$%!# $#!$#!@#%^&&*%$#@%^^@$%2. There now I feel better, not really. I was so excited about running again but tonight I had a setback. I decided to hit the gym again since it is really cold and rainy here today. I got on the treadmill ready to do an easy 6. I set the speed at 9 minutes/mile and off I went. By the second mile I noticed a slight ache in my leg. By the third mile I could feel myself beginning to limp. DAMN! I immediately quit running and got off the treadmill. I stretched the thigh like the doctor told me too and tried running very slowly around the indoor track. I was able to jog slowly without pain but was still frustrated. I have my leg on ice and it's elevated as I type. I hate it. I can't do this, I am beside myself with frustration. I want to run so badly. I don't feel like myself anymore. What am I going to do? HELP.

After my stupid run I went over to the workout pads and beat myself up with Pilates. My legs spent so much time in the air they may qualify for some type of FAA license! It felt good to do that. I may do some more before I go to bed.

All of you (Southbay Girl) who wondered why I was running again when I had committed to not running for 2 weeks were not crazy. OK You were right, what was I thinking. Maybe once you get to know me you will not be surprised in the future when I do stupid things. How does that country song go... "I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking???" Yea, that works right now.

More ice, then massage, then bed. Maybe I can dream of running.

Thanks for listening

Back to School

I volunteered to take pictures of the OKC Landrunner's marathon training run this morning. The only problem is that last night I had the thought that I don't have to do a long run in the morning so why don't I drink some wine! I haven't been able to drink much on Saturday nights lately so this was a welcome occurrence. So after a couple glasses of wine and a late night watching movies, getting up at 6 A.M. was kinda difficult. Once I got out there, though, I had a great time. I was somewhat worried that some runners would not take kindly to having their pictures taken while they were running 12 miles. Actually most of them had a ball! I got arms in the air, I got thumbs up, and one or two whoo hoo's! Runner's are definitely a different breed. I am not a photographer and I had some trouble with the lighting but I got some good pictures so I hope everyone's happy. I rreeeaaally wanted to be running with them, my leg felt fine and once I got the cobwebs out of my head I felt like I could have run with them. Oh well, I am going to run with my friend from work tomorrow so I can wait. I have some self control, see!

Since I didn't run I decided to go to my gym which is at the University of Central Oklahoma. I love going there, it makes me feel like a college kid. Since I never got to do the in-resident college life I enjoy acting like a college kid every now and then. I try to use words like "totally" and "like" a lot while I'm there. I think it helps me fit in. I always wear a hat so no one can tell I'm loosing my hair. They have an indoor running track there which I thought I would like but have actually grown to loath. How can anyone run that many laps and not become the uni-bomber! It drives me insane. Even with an Ipod I get bored and loose focus on running. Anyway, today I did something that looks like an elliptical glider but acts like a Stairmaster. I have no idea what it's called but it really worked my quads which was good. Then I grabbed a quiet corner and did some Pilate moves. I can like totally do Pilate's on my own, like totally rad! So I was like you know this workout guy, and everyone else was like Oh my God look at him, and I was like, yea, and you know totally sweating.

Maybe I'll hit a kegger and streak the quad tonight. You know, like anything goes.... totally.

Thanks for listening

This is what I've been missing!

Ok so I busted my vow not to run for 2 weeks (Get off my back Southbay Girl!). Not the first time I've had trouble with commitment. I wanted to run the Frigid Five miler because it's part of the OKC Landrunners series races and I am currently in the lead of my age division (I'm the only one in it but I'm still winning!). I told myself that I would start in the back and jog the race just to see how my leg felt. If it hurt, I would walk. Well I did start in the back and I did jog the first mile (9:07) but I was feeling great! So I picked it up a little, then a little more, then a little more etc... I went through mile 2 at 16:30, mile 3 at 24:02, mile 4 at 31:40, and finished in 39:02. My leg did not hurt at all and I had a great time! I felt a little bad about starting in the back and passing people the whole race. I hate fast runners that start back in the pack just so they can feel good passing slower people (me) for the whole race! Unfortunately that's what I ended up doing. I almost apologized to a couple of desperate looking people as I passed them going up a hill. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to do this, I'm not like that, I'm nice really!" I don't think they would have cared. Anyway, I had a great run and my leg didn't hurt at all and still doesn't hurt. I stretched it and am planning to do some Pilates tonight. I will take tomorrow off, I am planning to take pictures for the running club as they do 14 miles on the OKC marathon course. That should be fun. I am going to try running Monday (I know I'm breaking my commitment, but I have to be true to myself. It's not you it's me). If I can run 3 times next week that would be awesome! I hope to get back to long runs next weekend. This is bad for you, the reader (all 2 of you), because I will have more thoughts and feelings to spew into this wonderful internet bull-horn I call a blog.

My son ran the 1 mile fun run and WON IT! His picture is below as he sprints to the finish line! I found out later it was supposed to be for 11 year olds and under. He's 12 but hey, he really whooped up on those little kids! Nothing like kicking an 8 year-old's butt. I hope stealing candy from babies is not next!

I hear the writer's have tentatively settled so maybe there's something good on the tube. I feel like a nap!

Thanks for listening

Well Here goes nothing

Heading out the door for the Frigid Five miler. Wish me luck and no leg pain.

A vicarious run around the block

No Pilates tonight. Work has been really hard this week. I really need a night of rest. I know some people who can go and go but every now and then I look forward to a night of just vegging out in front of the TV. Of course there's nothing on because of the writer's strike but I haven't watched TV in so long that re-runs are fine with me.

As I was turning into my neighborhood tonight I saw some very insensitive man running. Can you believe that! How arrogant to run by me when I'm hurt. And he's on MY sidewalk! Mr. 'Look at me run' was probably going to run east on Danforth past Ted's Mexican restaurant that always smells like sizzling Fajitas. Then he'll run past Aspen Fitness center and wonder how people can spend hours "inside" working out. Then Mr. 'Willie is worthless 'cause he can't run' will turn South on Bryant and run past the golf course with the cool fountain in the pond. Soon after that he'll pass the place where I took one fateful step last year and saw pain face-to-face. Then he'll have to cross 2nd street which is extremely busy but the geniuses who run this town can't afford to put a crossing light up. If he survives the dash-of-death across 2nd street he'll have to deal with the bump in the sidewalk which in this state is considered a major hill. It's downhill past the Lowe's and onto the wide, new sidewalk they just put in last fall. Run past Hafer park where I had my absent-minded 5K a few weeks ago and Mr. 'I'm great and Willie's not' will continue on to 15th street. Turn West and he'll pass the Starbucks that smells sssooo good and then the fish restaurant that doesn't. He'll have to cross the street here or he'll run out of sidewalk before he makes it to Broadway. Turn North on Broadway and it's up hill for about a mile. I hope he sufferers and has to walk. Downhill past the Catholic Church and he'll have to contend with a blind corner where it's very likely to get run over by a mom who's late taking her child to Catholic school (She's the one on her cell phone with a coffee in the other). Up hill again and Mr. 'I'm taking this run for granted' will reach 2nd street again. There's a crossing light here of course because the traffics not as bad (go figure). Cross the street and he's on a really cool brick sidewalk that's not as cool for your ankles. Get past this and he's on the homestretch. Reach the nursing home where the nice people always say Hi, and he'll get to Danforth again. Cross the street and he's exactly 1 mile from home. He'll probably pick up the pace just to rub it in my face. Turn into the neighborhood and he'll want to stand tall and try not to look like he's hurting because there are people around he knows. Maybe that mean dog on the corner of Washington will be out and bite this guy on the ankle! If not, he'll finish the last few yards in a dead sprint and be feeling great as he reaches his driveway. Then he'll stop his watch, look at his time and feel great that he has the ability to do such an amazing thing as run 6 miles, endorphins will be along soon and a nice hot shower. Jerk

Thanks for listening

Of all the Gin Joints in all the towns in all the World....

Rick: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Ilsa: But, Richard, no, I... I...
Rick: Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louie?
Captain Renault: I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist.
Ilsa: You're saying this only to make me go.
Rick: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.
Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.

Sorry, I was feeling alittle down today so I watched some watched some of my favorite movies tonight. It's day two of my running hiatus and I miss it so much I could scream. The weather is nice, the roads are clear of snow, and all my friends are running. Maybe this was meant to show me that I put too much of my self-worth into running. I am a runner, that's what I do, so when I can't run what am I. Just another middle-aged guy. I'm really not that interesting outside of running and that makes me only mildly bearable to most people. So here is another blog that's supposed to be about running that will venture off on a path that further convinces you that, not only have you wasted your time reading this, but that you are probably dumber after having read it. Sorry for that.

Pilates. Blondey is back. I know, I know, this relationship is not healthy, she's not right for me, blah blah blah. I've heard it all before but I just can't stay away from her. Shelley and Jen are great and I love them but I am drawn back to Blondey like a guilty pleasure you just can't get rid of. I'll be sure to add this to my list of self-destructive habits. Anyway, I am now doing two Pilates DVDs a night because I don't think I am getting a good workout from just one. I am seriously considering attending a class.

I have a confession to make. I have a crush on Paula Radcliffe. Have you seen the new Runner's World? She's the cover story and I must admit that I have a puppy-love crush on her after looking through the magazine about a million times over the last few days. Her 10 month old daughter is absolutely adorable and they are so cute together. Her husband is, of course, handsome, probably brilliant, and probably works tirelessly at helping starving children but hey, what's he got that I don't have. Please don't answer that!

I have been thinking lately about triathlons. I used to do sprint distance tri's a few years ago and they were fun. My definition of swimming is being surrounded by water and not drowning so I really suck at swimming but it was a great workout. I think I would like to try a mid-long distance one someday. I think the training would be fun. Maybe I'll add that to my list of things to do before I donate what's left of my alcohol preserved body to science.

I don't know a lot,(insert Bogart accent) but I know it doesn't take much to see that the problems of one little runner don't matter a hill a beans in this crazy world. Someday maybe I'll understand that..... here's looking at you kid.

Thanks for listening

Day 1 and Counting

Well I've done it. I have committed myself to not running for 2 weeks. You may have thought I said I was being committed but not, just committing myself. Wait that doesn't sound right either. Anyway, I will not run until February 15th (except for the 5 mile race I signed up for this weekend, but it's part of the running club series so, come ooonnnn, I have to do it). This is, of course, due to my nagging right thigh injury. Nope, nothing for me except Pilates and biking for the next two llllloooonnngggg weeks. I will also be on a strict regiment of ice and massage. The ice sucks, the massage... not so much, kinda like that.

I know that all runners get injured at some point so I would love to hear from everyone how they deal with it. How do you deal with your diet? I eat a lot of calories everyday. I try to get them from healthy foods but I have never really limited myself in terms of gross caloric intake because I burn so many running everyday. Now I won't be burning as many so should I restrict my diet? Once I feel I can run again, how should I return? Two weeks is a long time to not run and I don't want to repeat the injury so how slow should I take my return? Should I ditch my marathon training program and replace it with a more conservative one or should I try to gradually return to the schedule? Any thoughts would be great.

I was thinking about the coincidences of life today. I don't really believe in coincidence so I have to examine everything that happens and try to make a connection to something else that happened. I began writing this blog when the pain in my leg returned. I had every intention of writing a blog totally focused on running. I was going to talk about the thoughts and feelings I had during my long runs so that I could review them and see just how crazy I might really be. I also thought it would be good for my children's psychiatrist to have documented proof of their father’s inner demons as this might save him some time investigating the cause of their problems. But I have noticed that since I began writing this I haven't been able to talk much about my running because of this stupid right leg of mine. I haven't been able to explain why the injury and my blog began at the same time but I know there is a reason. As is the case in most of my life, I probably was not meant to do the thing I wanted to do so I am being forced by some higher power (fate) into doing what I should be doing. I would argue that the blogs I have written up to this point SUCK so what's the deal? This cannot be better than what I had planned, can it? I don't know. Again, I would love to hear some funny reason's for this strange series of events... Any thoughts???

I hope you realize that most of the time I am full of #^%$ and that I don't even believe half the things I write. I try to always find humor in everything and bring it to everyone I connect with so please don't think I am really f'ed up. I think I'm totally normal and the rest of you are messed up!!! Just kidding....

Thanks for listening

A visit to Dr. StrangeLeg

Yesterday was wonderfully relaxing. I did next to nothing and loved it. I massaged and iced my leg and did my Pilates DVD. I really like my new instructors Shelley and Jen. They are really nice and go really slow. So much so that I sometimes yell at Jen for not keeping up. I hate to criticise but she really brings the class down sometimes. I can tell Shelley is frustrated too but she puts up with it and somehow keeps a smile. I may have to move up to the advanced class if this keeps up. Since I'm not running I haven't been able to see any benefit from Pilates yet but I can feel my core aching in the morning so I guess that's progress.

I managed to get in with my doctor today so he could look at my leg and make sure it's still there. I like him but sometimes I wonder if I don't have my hopes too high when I go see him. I expected him to maybe amputate my bad leg and install a new one (which he didn't), or maybe give me a shot of whatever Barry Bonds was taking so that my leg became the size of a race horses leg (which he wouldn't do either). Sometimes I don't know what this guy is good for! Was I expecting too much?? Geesh. He did send me across town to have X-rays which I will probably never hear any results from. My doctor has a history of performing tests, which I think are important, and then never calling me back to say how they came out. The last time I went to see him he drew about 5 gallons of blood and just about every other kind of bodily tissue. So much so that he could have made a new me with all the stuff he took. So I thought, hey, surely he'll figure out what's wrong with me from all that, right? Well a week later I had heard nothing so I called. I told his secretary that I was calling to see if they had discovered anything from during their expedition and sample collection of Willie. She put me on hold for a minute and came back to say, and I quote, "Your tests came back negative". What? huh? what'da test me for?? I thought we were looking for something abnormal. What does negative mean? She had no clue. I love her. He ended up giving me a prescription that fixed my problem (will discuss later) so in the end we got it right but how he got there left a lot to be desired.

One thought I had as I entered my front door is that I forgot to ask him for a referral to a physical theopist!! THIS WAS THE WHOLE REASON I WENT TO HIM!! I am so easily sidetracked. I have the attention span of a knat!

Southbay Girl did great in her race and even took lots of pictures so I could get a view of California, if somewhat blurred by rain. I don't know how you took a video while running in the rain but it was really cool! Thanks and way to go!

I ran today!!!

After my Pilates workout this morning I just couldn't help but try out the new shoes. My son talked me into running around the block, about 1 1/2 miles. The first step I took hurt my thigh but I shortened my stride and the pain subdued somewhat. It was nice to get out and use the legs again and the weather was PERFECT! Almost 60 degrees and no wind. Sun is shining down and I wish I could do more miles. I am home now with my leg on ice and listening to Phedippidations, Steve Runner's wonderful weekly podcast. I am also anxiously waiting to hear how Southbay Girl did in her Super Bowl 10K today.

The new shoes were great and my feet seem to like them. I am feeling the usual aches in my feet that occur as they get snuggled into their new home but nothing major. This injury may help me ease into these new shoes. In the past I have always taken new shoes out for a long run and felt the pain of blisters and sore feet because of this early over-use. (I'm trying to find some good in this!).

My son ran well with me today. I signed up for next weekend's Frigid Five race today and he wanted to do it with me. I thought about it and felt that 5 miles was probably too much for a novice, 13 year old runner, to tackle as he is just beginning.

Go Southbay Girl!! and Thanks for listening

New shoes!!

Elite Feet (my shoe dealer) called this morning and said they received their new order of Brooks today. I love them, they know just how to get to a guy. I was in the middle of my Pilates workout, contemplating how much fun I had missed this morning running hills with the OKC Landrunners when I got the call. I may have hurt one of the children as I raced out the door but they should have known not to get between me and a new pair of running shoes! I will add that to the list of things to inform their psychiatrist of when they (inevitably) go to counseling to fix all the problems I put in their heads during my attempts to keep them alive until maturity. I spent the next hour trying on the Brooks Adrenaline 8, the Brooks Infiniti (just released!), and the Asics 2130. I took my orthotics and my favorite socks just to be sure I gave them all a fair opportunity to impress me. In the end I went with the Brook Adrenaline 8 (shown above attached to my winter-shade of bleached white ankle). I got them home and they seem to be settling in nicely. I made a special place for them in my closet so they would be too scared at first. I haven't introduced them to their predecessors yet, will have to take that slowly to make sure they don't get rejected.

I have been icing my leg every night and massaging it with my roller. It seems to be feeling better so maybe I can get over this in another week. I am considering seeing a doctor so that he can refer me to a physical terrorist. Maybe that would speed up the recovery also. The Pilates are going well, I am actually starting to look forward to them now. I found another video that is more basic Pilates without the extra dance moves that Blondy was adding. I tried to make it work with her but I have always felt a good relationship should come naturally at first. You shouldn't have to work at it until you've been together awhile. Maybe I am becoming a commitment phoebe but I just think I need more from my Pilates instructor.

Took my son with me to the shoe store and got him some Brooks Adrenaline 7's that were on sale. He immediately took them home and ran a mile in them (he just doesn't understand how to treat shoes). More encouragement that maybe I can salvage a relationship yet.

The weather is wonderful today, sun is out in force with little to no wind. Can't wait to get back on the roads. Maybe next week.

Thanks for listening