This is who I really am.

Well, I did something I said I wasn't going to do. I signed up for the 2011 MRTC Road Race Series. I said I wasn't going to do it because I really wanted to focus on the St. Jude Marathon  and not get distracted by getting too competitive. But I REALLY want to do this. I really NEED to do this. I was recently at Shelby Farms, the site of the 10k races, when I finally decided I HAVE to do this. Luckily my wife was really receptive to it. We are both signed up. Staci is not a runner. In fact I think she hates running as much as I love running. But she knows it is good for her and she wants the challenge. She did part of it with me in 2009. We ran one of the 10k together because I was too hungover to run my pace (it was the day after a big Ohio State football loss.) The rest of the races we ran our own pace. This year we are going to run one race distance together and one race distance at our own pace. Again, she hates running so her plan is to run the 2-5k, 2-5milers and

Yesterday's run was a little interesting. Not all of my runs are interesting so I don't feel the need to post about every one of them. But sometimes I will have one that sticks out and seems worthy (at least to me) of a post. If you follow me on twitter then you may have noticed that Monday I deemed this "Hell Week" for myself. I just got back from a great vacation (if you like to eat you need to go on vacation with me) and I need to get back on track with the goals I set a few months ago. I really planned on losing some weight and getting in better shape before I start training for my marathon. The marathon is in December so my training program starts in August. Well....I really haven't gotten to where I want to be so this week I am doing as much extra cardio as I possibly can. Monday's workout, along with the fact that my shoes are in need of replacement, left my feet absolutely screaming. So, monday night before I went to work I used my foot soothin

It is official: I am signed up for the 2011 St. Jude Marathon. This will be my second marathon. My first was the 2009 St. Jude Marathon. It was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had. As I have posted before I love training. Before that first marathon I really don't think I completely understood what I was getting into. I used Hal Higdon's novice training program and got advice from my running buddy Alli. During the training the MRTC Road Race Series was going on. I completed all of the races and was deemed a Road Warrior. I took some step classes as well as pilates and yoga classes. I ate better. I backed away from lifting weights a little. I was in the best shape of my life. My problem? I probably overtrained. And I went in a little cocky. As I mentioned, I was in the middle of the Road Race Series. It is a series of ten races with each race two weeks apart. Two 5ks, two 5 milers, two 10ks, two 10 milers and two half marathons in that order. I looked at ea

Running is my passion. No matter what kind of running I am doing at the moment I am enjoying it. I love running races. I love training for races. Running a race gives me a goal. Training for a race gives me an opportunity to achieve my goal. I look at every race as an opportunity to set an new PR. When I sign up for a race I set up my training program and decide what time I want to finish. The answer is always simple: faster than my current PR. Training gives me discipline. When I am training for a race I try to follow my program exactly. Distance, time and effort are my goals that I need to reach for each run. I always use Hal Higdon's  training programs. He has three levels of programs for novice, intermediate and advanced runners. I usually use either an intermediate or advanced program depending on my goal and where I feel I am physically. I always feel like training is more fun. Until race day comes and I am ready to rock! The adrenaline kick I get during a race is unb