Haulin Aspen and Grizzly are a go...........

The plans were made, friends were told and now the money is paid, we are committed to running two marathons in a week. Ok, Karyn corrected me, I am committed they will simply wait for me at the finish after getting back to the hotel for a good morning of sleep.

I now need to lock into a reasonable training plan in order to get to the start line as healthy as possible. It's funny how things work out, on the day that I sign-up, I am hacking away. Right now, I can't imagine doing these two but my hope is that my coming runs lay the foundation for a couple of enjoyable events.

Notice that I say events, I want to enjoy these runs. I know I will never probably be able to make it back to either of these events again. I plan on soaking them in, I may even take a camera with to get some race pictures. I did that one year at Grandmas where I was a bit injured and knew I couldn't race, it allowed me to slow down and to take in the beauty of Lake Superior, the sounds and sights of runners, volunteers and fans. I had never stopped to look at the lake nor paid much attention to the fans or runners during Grandmas (nor any marathon) as my focus was on the race. meaning my race. That race taught me that I race to participate not to race. I don't mean that I won't go as hard as I can because I will, I mean if it ain't my day to race then slow down, cut myself some slack and enjoy. As someone once said, no matter how bad you feel, someone else probably feels worse. If you stop and look around you can probably find that person and then you can help them, usually it is a first timer who just needs some reassurance. I have heard many stories from runners in a bit of trouble, my hope is that my conversations and encouragement helped them. I know that I was helped in more than one event by a comment from a fellow runner or fan. I also know that I will never win a race and I don't care, it's about enjoying the event, taking in the scenery, reflecting on life, thinking about the present, planning for the future and usually hoping the pain doesn't get worse.

Now if the weather would only improve to make it easier to get out the door. Ran twice over the weekend but my cold hit on Sunday and I decided to cut the run short by a couple of miles. The plan is to train for Fargo without injury. It bothered me to abort but I barely made it through the first mile, it was one of those runs where you just think it will get better but it didn't. Time to rest up, get healthy and work on the base............