New York, New York

I spent last weekend with MFCS in the big apple. FunTimes (Scanlan's TM phrase). If I lived in NYC, I'd be as big as a house. Every day seems to involve a fun excuse to drink beer and carb load. Every night, as far as I can tell, involves coming home in the wee hours after one too many. This combination would make it nearly impossible for me to drag myself out of bed to run in the mornings. On the other hand, I'd get to run in Central Park which is a magical place on a pretty day.

I ran 6 miles on Friday in Dallas and managed to run one of the three mornings during my holiday trip. You have no idea what an accomplishment that was.

Miles logged in NYC? 6

Beers consumed? 87

Rookie Mistakes

Last Saturday was the Luke's pre-summer time trial run to determine which group we'd be joining for the summer. In previous years, I skipped this practice day. Saturday, I remembered why. Lots of group stretching and announcements. Pick a partner for this next stretch? No. I do not want to get out of bed for this. Mental note for next year (next year????), savor the last Saturday of extra sleep. Rookie mistake, KC.

We lost Jon and MK for marathon 2011 training. It seems one long bludgeoning by the 5 boroughs of NY was enough for them. I know Jon will miss it as sure as I know MK won't. Our new additions to Saturdays pre-dawn include Luke and Craig --- though truthfully, Craig shouldn't count because he could qualify for Boston and that really isn't even the same genre as what the rest of us are doing.

And yes, I'm committed to a marathon. I'm running in D.C. this year on Halloween weekend. Please book your tickets and start planning your costumes now.

This is Now

It is running season again. Time to start getting up way too early on Saturday mornings to run in what I can only assume will be oppressive Texas heat/humidity. Yes, that feeling that you're experiencing right now is jealousy.

If we haven't talked since last November (we aren't very close, are we?), I managed to slug my way through 26.2 miles in NYC last year, but (as I mentioned to everyone that would listen), I had to freebase Dayquil to get there. Running sick is not something that I recommend, but the NYC Marathon waits for no one. The picture here is a clear indication of my speed that day. I have never been as cold and beat as I was when I hit Central Park. However, despite each of us battling our own demons --- Jon, Timmy, MK and I all crossed the finish line --- God bless us every one.

The lottery for the 2011 NYC marathon has come and gone. I didn't get drawn this year. Fate has decided that I must run a different marathon (Fate and I are in arguments about a number of things at the moment). I still haven't pulled the trigger for what next fall's marathon will be, but the heavy favorite is D.C. at the moment. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, my triumphant return to the Taco Joint (no comments from the peanut gallery, please) will be in a few short weeks. Buckle up.