Greetings

This is a blog about running. I am a 41 year old father of two boys, ages 2 and 4. I've been running regularly for 20 years. During that time I've logged between 20-40 miles per week, every week, with one day per week off for good behavior. I've run in all sorts of conditions in many different places. I've learned a thing or two about running, and more than a thing or two about myself.

I’ve decided to run a marathon in the fall. The last one I ran was the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC in 1997-several lifetimes ago, it seems. My time for the rainy, chilly race was something like 4:14.24, and it would have been better if it wasn’t for an unplanned porto-san break around mile 5. This was way off my time for the 1993 Buffalo marathon which clocked in at a snappy 3:34. All I can say is that I gained a bit of weight and trained a lot less for the 97 race. Hopefully I can redeem myself at the Steamtown marathon this fall.

After fairly strong performances in my last 2 ½ marathons, I figure I can handle the distance well enough. I’d like a sub 4 hour finish, but I’ll be happy to finish at all. I figure this is a good attitude to have when you’re trying to beat the time you posted as a 29 year old.

Although the marathon is a great goal in and of itself, I’m really kind of interested in trying my hand at ultras somewhere down the line. For reasons I can’t even begin to comprehend, the idea of running for 100 miles straight actually appeals to me. I’m a long way from towing the line at the Western States 100, but I’m keeping the idea burning in the back of my head.

I’ve looked over a bunch of marathon training plans and haven’t found anything that really fits my schedule. I will have to do my long runs on Thursdays rather than Sundays and make all kinds of adjustments for business travel and the demands of family life, but I think I can put something together that will get me to the finish line. If anything I’ll run too much rather than too little. I’m a little nuts that way.