Six (and a half?) Miles

Men, men, men, men, manly men. Wahuhwooooh.

Or the theme song to Two and a Half Men.

Repeat that ad nauseum. That's how my 6 miles went today.

Meeennnn...

Pounding the pavement

Back out out on the road today. Calves feeling better, although I cannot say the same about the obligatory shin splints. Hopefully everything is good and I can stay on schedule.
The ice in the Charles is breaking up. Channels criss cross under the Mass Ave bridge. Geometric floes of ice have begun to crowd up against the shore. Spring is close. So very, very close.

You don't mess with the calves

Since the ten-miler on Feb 15th my calves have been, how do I say...freakin annoying. I gave them a couple days off, but oh no, they gotta go ahead and complain about a lousy 14 miles. Needless to say I am starting to get a little pissed off about the situation now. So fine, I'll cave and give them three days off to recuperate.

You hear that calves? Three whole days of rest. Now quit your whining and resume normal function levels. Otherwise I may do something foolish like run a marathon. That'll teach them. Don't come whining to me when you can't walk normal for a week.

On a different note I would like to give a big "Hola Amigos" to all our Mexican friends as the celebrate Flag Day tomorrow. Bebida feliz de mis amigos!

Old Fashioned Whoopass

Well, not really, but I did do quite well at the Old Fashioned 10Miler. Set out to do around 8min/mile but after I hit the first mile marker and they called out 7:20 I decided to just keep it up. Long story short, I finished up with a 1:14:22; 7:24/mile. Not too shabby. The whole race felt good and this was my first real test for the marathon.

I went out and did 4.25 miles today which wasn't a great idea. The calves still hurt from yesterday. Oowie. No complaints from the Inguinals though, so it is full steam ahead!

Edit: I failed to mention that my lovely family was there at both the start and the finish to cheer me on. Thanks to the family! (is that enough kissing up Jen?) Props to Jackson for the big poster he made helping me along.

Breezy with a chance of pirates

I could have just stood in place and moved my legs instead of actually running today. With the wind blowing so hard it would have been just as much work.

If you are looking for the safest place in the US to hide for a time I have found it: The USS Constitution. Several of my runs have brought me near it, but as of right now I have found no way to actually get to it. Do they think someone is going to steal it?

I know it is a national monument and all, but the only people interested in stealing a huge wooden sailing vessel are pirates. You don't have to keep everyone away, all you have to do is stop them. Look for the parrots on their shoulders, it's a dead-giveaway.

And the iceman melteth

Without any hat, or gloves, or pants (still had the shorts though), or jackets to weigh me down I felt like I was running on air. The warm sun propelling me along the banks of the Charles River. Dogs running to and fro, children swinging on the playsets as I cruised on by. The still air gently caressing my face and lulling me into a quiet trance. Ah, springtime in Boston.

Wait, it's still only February.

And now, chipmunk free...

As I was running along the windswept Charles today, enjoying the sun and the views of the city, a hawk dropped out of the sky and silently glided past me in his quest to keep the area chipmunk-free.

Yet another reason to get out and run: birds-of-prey will fly by you.

The ice people cometh

Saturday morning long run with the crew. The mercury hovered around 4 degrees. Lots of icy hats during that run.

Should have waited until Sunday when it was 40 degrees. But what fun is that?

Website is up

I redesigned my website for the big marathon fundraising push. www.jputt.com Hopefully this helps with raising of the money but if not it looks a whole lot better.

I seriously have to stop running outside when the wind chill is -3 degrees, I still can't feel my cheeks from yesterday. But on the other hand the brief moment of terror I experienced while running over the Charlestown Bridge and looking 50 feet straight down into the icy water helped to warm me up for a bit. I do so love those metal grate bridges; depending on the mood it can make you feel like you are running on air. Or about to experience free-fall.

It's not cold, it's brisk

There is only one thing to be done when it's 15 degrees out and an inch of snow covers the sidewalks; run faster. That way the burning in my lungs makes me forget all about the fact that I stopped being able to feel my toes by mile two.

On the plus side, a clear starry night with a blanket of snow covering everything makes it just bright enough to run without a headlamp. In the quiet of the evening with the stars guiding my way I get a certain peace, almost meditatively, that lifts me above the physical effort and reminds me what all of the running should be about; enjoying the moment.

A backdoor in

On August 31, 2008 I ran a 1:35:22 in the Virginia Beach Rock N Roll half-marathon, setting a new PR and getting one step closer to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Several weeks later I was forced to shelve that dream after enduring the constant pain of an Inguinal ligament tear (on both sides!). No Boston qualifier for me.

Four months later I'm back on the road. And just in time. I have been offered a spot in the Boston Marathon by Catholic Charities. I have accepted and so now I just need to get out there, run down some miles and come up with a whole lot of cash.

I'm not sure which is going to be harder, the marathon or the fund-raising.

Definitely the fund-raising.