Pardon the interruption

i'm going to do something i haven't done in almost two years: take a few days off from sharing my thoughts.

why?

because i'm super focused right now on running a personal best at the houston marathon this weekend. i'm going to be traveling, the technology loop (as mentioned previous) tends to drag my focus in times like these, and i want to really kick some fucking ass down there.

i'll be back.

while i'm gone, do yourself a favor by going outside and exploring.

HOLLA!!!

Ryan hall: one fuckin' fast crazy train

i love ryan hall. i really do.

as a runner, i have nothing but respect for the man. his marathon achievements thus far are as inspiring as his training tips are effective and i love every bit of ryan's work ethic.

but the dude is fucking batcrazy delusional.

also, he's one of those preachy xtrian delusionoids who won't let an opportunity to speak about his god in public go amiss. here he is prior to this year's chicago marathon, talking about his training habits. he gets into the bible/jesusy shit around the 1:40 mark.

sorry, ryan. jeebus and god and the MAN MADE bible have nothing to do with the normal training techniques you're talking about.

your body needs rest. it especially needs rest if you put it through hard work. without rest, adaptation cannot take place, and you wouldn't do well in any sort of race. do you really need the bible to tell you to take a day off once in a while? do you need a bible to tell you to go pee when you have to go pee too?

and yes, of course, an abundance of counselors is going to be beneficial to your training. that's why we have think tanks and focus groups and congress (okay, maybe congress is a bad example). i don't see how the bible is necessary for you to ask others what their opinions/thoughts might be.

i have read advanced marathoning four times now, and the authors point out -- repeatedly -- how important the above principles are.

it has nothing to fucking do with the bible.

PS, i will still be there cheering for you in houston this january.

50 kilometers

50K. that's what's on my mind today.

on saturday, i'll be taking my first shot at running the 50K distance. i'll be running on trails, in a warm climate and my pops is gonna be there to make sure i don't die.

haha. just playin'. 50K (31 miles) isn't much more than a marathon, so i know i'll be just fine. still, since this is my virgin voyage, i can't help but acknowledge that i do have some nerves piling up.

i've decided to not race it, to just take my time and enjoy the journey, wherever it takes me (hopefully not off course!)... and in making that decision i realized that my plan is quite the cliche metaphor for life.

well, shit, things become cliche because they're RIGHT, right?

right.

:-)

Victory, sweet victory

my top 4% finish at the chicago marathon sunday was as exhilarating as it was mind-blowing. running at the front of a pack of 45,000 people was something i had never done before and being treated to the neverending cheers from 1.7 million spectators gave me the energy to fly without much perceived effort... until about the 23 mile mark, where i conveniently asked myself: "whose legs are these?!?!"

nevertheless, i kept pushing. hard. then harder. then HARDER. until i crossed the line with a dizzy disposition.

it was a little too warm for my liking, so my time wasn't as good as i thought my legs were capable, but finishing at 3 hours 20 minutes and 49 seconds was good enough for a top 4% finish and a to-date personal best time at the distance.

next up: two 50K trail races (one in texas and one in indiana in november and december respectively), then on to houston in january for another sub 3:15 marathon attempt.

as one of my best buddies would say: HOT MUTHAFUCKIN DOG!!!

What i'm doing

if you're reading this between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. chicago time, well, this is what i'm doing. i'm running like a madman through the streets of my beloved city. in fact, miles 20 through 24 take you right through my neighborhood.

this is either going to be the greatest running achievement of my life thus far or a colossal failure... either way, i'll tell ya all about it and not get too hung up if things don't work out the way i want them to.

HOLLLA!

Ready for "epic"

running means a lot to me. it's my drug, my escape, my happy place. without it holding me up the last couple of years, i'm not sure where i'd be.

and it's a strange sport, this running. i mean, what other sport has its elite athletes toe up on the same start line as amateur joes, weekend warriors and the virginally crowned couch-to-5Kers?

this weekend i will put the exclamation mark on what has been the absolute best 16 weeks of training i've ever gutted through by running the coveted chicago marathon. i'm stoked as hell as this will be the my first marathon since my st. louis letdown back in april, where i ended up injuring myself and shelved for six weeks.

this time i trained smarter. i didn't marry a chart, rather, i listened to my body and pushed it when i could, eased back when i had to, and most of all, i tried to remember that THIS SHIT IS FUN!!!!

and realize as i may that no one really gives a fuck how fast or how slow i run a marathon, the competitor within me is dead set on running sunday's race as fast as i can with all of the effort i can muster, no holding back. that's what running is about to me: seeing how far i can go, seeing what i -- as a mortal human fucking being -- can really push myself to do.

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!

my pops is coming to run it too. and so is one of my brothers-in-law. i hate to steal one of those kid-cliched interweb memes to describe the potential, but i cannot resist saying it's gonna be EPIC.

Needing kara goucher

at least once a week i allow myself to be extremely pissed off that i'm not sleeping with olympic marathoner kara goucher.

a superior bundle of absolute CUTENESS, i melt every time i see her vibrant smile. she's on the cover of runner's world this month and she looks sexy as hell. i had to do a double-take, 'cuz damn!, girl just gave birth to her first child back in september.

i am very impressed.

normally, the elite female marathon body doesn't do it for me in the bonerjamz department. don't get me wrong, i'm a huge fan of deena kastor, paula radcliffe, shalane flannigan & co. but i also need some female curves (think: booty) to get groovin' and the above, as badass as they are, just don't have it.

kara does. at least... a little.

AND she's SO damn cute!

so in lieu of my kara-broken heart, here's an ode to my favorite female runner, in pic form, of course:

This is what i'm doing right now

from 7 a.m., til i cross that line shortly after 10 a.m. (i hope)

more to come...

Going all in

this weekend is gonna be pretty special for me. not only am i takin' a few days off from the daily grind, but i'm also gonna head down to st. louis, spend some quality time with family and then top it all off by running the st. louis marathon on sunday the 10th.

i've spent the last 18 weeks training diligently, through snow, sleet, ice, hail, bitter cold and fatigue. i've endured shin splints, piriformis syndrome and a wickedly unforgiving thunderstorm boasting 35 mph winds during a 20 mile training run that was intent on making me an i-give-up-pussy.

i NEVER gave up. i ALWAYS gave my best. and in doing so, i've gotten exponentially faster. i'm as fit as i've ever been in my entire life and by golly, from all that core work i actually have a six pack now! (just icing on the cake)

but on sunday morning at 7 a.m., all of that preparation will be behind me. it will be stored... locked and loaded, held deep within me, to propel me forward at 7 minutes a mile for 26.2 miles.

i hope.

and even if i don't reach that lofty time goal (st. louis is quite a hilly course), i will still have plenty to be happy about. i mean, my pops will be there and i'll be traipsing through one of my favorite cities on earth.

but there's no negativity in my game right now.

i'm gonna run the shit outta that race.

More on the void

don't know why it took me so long, but i finally got around to watching the critically acclaimed docudrama touching the void.

every human being needs to watch this fucking movie.

seriously.

if you have netflix, you can watch it instantly.

for me, this film hits on a subject that i've been delving deeper and deeper into the last few months. it's a tale of endurance, of pain, of suffering, of enlightenment, of finding out who you really fucking are -- inside and out.

those are all characteristics that most people have totally lost touch with. we aren't in tune with our bodies anymore. we're weak. we can't survive without our things, our toys, our technocracy.

having experienced this event through the words of the survivors, i feel a certain privilege... that i have more philosophical and physical fuel to charge my next adventure. and as my appetite for discovering who i really am increases, so too do the tests of my body swell.

7 time western states 100 winner and ultramarathon messiah, scott jurek, once said, "running is a vehicle for self-discovery."

indeed it is.

in fact, any physical challenge or test of endurance or cradling of lady death herself... any of these things will reveal one's true self.

and that's something that is lost on today's masses.

a fucking shame.

I found my new favorite drug and it fucking rocks

you're gonna start hearing me talk about running every now and then. it's on my mind a lot.

i took this picture from the top of the el tracks at adams & wabash, right after mile five of the rock & roll half marathon.

i fucking love this picture.

and i took it!

:-)