Officially "Half"way there

I just registered for the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon. I think I may have signed up for it last year, but Ethan came way before we were expecting him, so I didn't get to actually run it.

Dad ran this one every year, and it was a big deal for him. I remember being a spectator for a number of years and a partial-participant when I was in 7th grade. Most often, he ran it with his buddy Danny, who is longer legged and faster than Dad was. I remember hearing repeatedly about the year that Danny's shorts were not adequately rinsed from the laundry, and as he worked up a sweat, his pants began to drip foam. I remember Mom rolling her eyes as we would have to go and get the car because Dad ran home from dropping the car off at the mechanic, or some other place while he was in training for the race. I think Brian and/or Andrew may still even sleep in old MiniMarathon t-shirts.

This year I finally get to make it MY race!

Races for 2008

Here is my plan so far for races in 2008:

Jan 14 - Snowman Shuffle 4 miler
Feb 16 - Frostbite 5K (and Happy B-day Derek)
March 1 - Anthem 5K
March 15 - Rodes City Run 10K
March 29 - Papa John's 10 miler
April 26th - KY Derby Mini-Marathon
Summer - ??
September ? - Downtown Doubler 30K

2009
January 1 - Hangover Classic 10 miler
January ? Disney Marathon

And speaking of races, this is me at the coldest, slushiest race I have run in a long time. Derek calls it an "action shot" and says the blurriness just shows how fast I was going.

Rub-a-dub-dub, two babies in a tub...

Running Partner

I have a new running partner.

He is an early riser, often waking up earlier than me. His stamina is borderline - I have had to cut two-thirds of our runs a little short because he has run out of steam.

Sometimes he is gross - spitting all over the place, and even soiling his britches during the run. Sometimes he talks the whole time we're running, other times he stares into space or even falls asleep.

Even though I am accustomed to solo running, I wouldn't trade this new partner for anything in the world. After all - look how handsome he looks before our early-morning runs:

Mojo

"You know, what have we learned here today? Perhaps it's that no one can take your mojo. You can look around all you want, but what you're really trying to find is on the inside. Take care of yourself, and each other."

Running a good race has done wonders for my level of inspiration. I have a schedule that I am getting ready to record into Outlook. I know of at least 7 races that I want to run this year, leading up to the Disney Marathon in '09. This is the first time that I have felt inspired to run (as opposed to obligated to run) in a very long time.

Zzzzzzzz...

Golly - I didn't think I was THAT tired... I just fell asleep here at work for a millisecond. I had my head down checking things off on a list, and did that head-jerky thing that I remember doing in class when I fell asleep and started to fall over.

Does that mean I have more Jim Rudd in me than I thought?

One week and one day

Until the Reindeer Romp. It is a teeny little race - just 4K, but it has done a good job of getting me out of the house and onto the streets for this past week. This will be my first race since the Anthem 5K that I ran right before Ethan was born. I'm even getting a little case of the pre-race jitters over it!

I don't know yet what Derek and Ethan will be doing while I am running. Historically, D has been my cheering section and photographer, but with chilly weather and a little man in tow, that may be tough, even for such a short race.

Becky - we are supposed to bring a prezzie for a kid 12-15 as registration for this thing. Since you are the proud owner of one within that age group, can you think of anything cheapo but interesting I can get?