Thanks

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments, emails and phone calls over the past few days. I really appreciate the support shown both to our effort here and to Ken and Michelle and their families. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they get through this extremely difficult time.

I initially felt a little apprehensive about writing about my running here again. It still isn't the easiest thing to do following these previous couple posts. But the more I think about it, the more I think the best way to continue to do things here is to celebrate Cru and continue to spread the word about SMA. Please continue to pass on the word of our efforts to friends, families, co-workers, neighbors or whoever you think would like to jump in and help us support FSMA. So hang in there while I switch gears to talk about my running, which has sometimes seemed inconsequential in the big picture after the last few days. But running is the vehicle that has given us the means to raise over $31,000 for FSMA, so it definitely has proved to be worthwhile. If you're not up for reading about running at this point, I completely understand. The rest of this post is pretty much related to running.

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So , I was able to run on Tuesday morning. I went 9 miles and finished at an 8:01 pace. I don't really remember too many details of the run besides getting the miles in. When I am out running, I can really use it as time to do whatever I want when it comes to what to think. Sometimes I try to focus purely on my time and pace. Other times I can use it to think about Tiffany or family or friends. Maybe sometimes I'll think about fantasy baseball or work. Or I can just listen to the music and clear my head. Or it can be any combination of those things while still focusing on what my watch is telling me. Other times I will try to visualize different parts of the marathon course and visualize running through those parts and seeing the wonderful people who come out and support me. On Tuesday I really didn't look at my watch much and just tried to get some thoughts together about Cru. The result is what you read here on Tuesday's post.

Last night, it was time for the final installment of Yasso 800s. The goal was a 3:10. I headed over to the track after I threw some dinner together. Tiffany got stuck at work late, so I wanted her to be able to eat as soon as she got home. Why, you ask? For those of you that don't know, we are expecting our first child on February 14th. So it's not unusual for Tiffany to be pretty hungry by the time she gets home. At any rate, I got to the track around 6:15 and posted the following times:
1-3:03
2-3:09
3-3:09
4-3:05
5-3:11
6-3:13
7-3:10
8-3:12
9-3:09
10-3:03
Average time: 3:08:04

Tiffany and Bosley (the dog) walked over in time to see the last couple 800s. Bosley was freaking out every time I'd run by them. He has a little bit of separation anxiety. When I say a little bit, I really mean it's pretty awful. After I finished my last 800, I grabbed his leash and took him on a lap around the track. We walked until the half way point and I decided to see if he would run with me. Oh yeah, I should mention that he is a dachsund. His legs aren't very long. He started to run after I did and he really started to motor. It was really funny to see. I then took him off of his leash and let him run to Tiffany for the last quarter lap or so. He was really thirsty and quite tired afterwards. I'll put up a few pictures of him sometime down the road so you can get a mental picture of him running around the track with me.

Back to the real run: I was pretty happy with my times. For those of you new to the blog, the Yasso 800 is an exercise where one runs 800 meters (a half of a mile) ten times with 400 meter jogs in between. Your average time in minutes and seconds supposedly translates (within a few minutes) to a marathon predictor time in hours and seconds. So according to Yasso, I am fit to run around a 3:08 marathon right. Um, yeah, that's not going to happen. A 3:08 is way beyond my current fitness/talent level. That would be a 7:10 pace across 26.2 miles.

The half marathon is this Sunday and I will have a good idea of what I'll want my pace for the full marathon to be based on my time this Sunday. I can promise you it will not be a a 7:10. I do have a 10 miler to get in on Friday morning before Sunday's Half. I'll be sure to fill you all in about Sunday's race.

That's about it here. Have a good weekend.