I’m doing a 25k marathon on Sept. 11.

My friend Sue invited me, and I decided to do it.  Sept. 11 is her birthday…and things like birthdays are very important to her.  So I would guess she figured she’d rather be out of the house running her ass off than looking at the T.V. or out in public hearing about Sept. 11 and watching it turned into the bastard child of heartless media exploitation and opportunistic political grandstanding.

I decided that I would do it as a sort of birthday present to her…as this is the sort of thing she really digs for a birthday present…stuff that requires time and attention and involvement and stuff.  J

So I have signed up, and today we started training…I’m a person who runs…but I’m not a runner.  I’ll run a mile here or there…and I do five to seven miles almost daily on the elliptical jogger at the gym…but that’s not the same as being a runner…training, discipline, psychology, strategy…that stuff has been lacking from my running experience.  I run fairly frequently…but it’s when I feel like it, for as long as I feel like it.

This is different.  I’ve got a training schedule.  I’m going to have a new training diet, as low carb is not terribly appropriate for runners.  I’m still doing the South Beach, but I’m adding a much higher level of whole grains and fruit than they generally recommend.

And I refuse to feel guilty about the chocolate anymore.

I've had three people ask me if I'm thinking about signing up for the Twin Cities Marathon in October...26.2 miles?  uh uh.  No thanks.  Not with Diamond Nationals coming up that month and my history of getting injured right before tournaments.

Anyway, today Sue was feeling a little tightness and pain in her knees, so we kept it to an easy three miles…then I went and volunteered for a field trip at the second grader’s school (planting flowers at Staring Lake Park) and then I ran the three mile trail around Staring.  So, I’ve done six miles today, which Rocky says doesn’t count, because I had an hour and ½ break in between…but that’s easy for him to say…he didn’t do the running…so there.  J