One mile piggyback ride was given this evening. Am I recovered from the marathon? No. Do I care? No. Bring on the pain.

Marathon time: 3:46. A new record for me. At the end of the race I called out 'Nike!' Sweet goddess of victory. A new 21 day challenge approaches. Stay tuned.

Pre-Marathon Day

The last day before the marathon. It was spent taking it quite easy. I did a 2.5 or 3 mile run. Took it at a really easy pace. Afterwards, I did twenty minutes of light bouldering and half an hour of yoga. Then BMW and Jason B. came to take a sauna with me. Then went up to BMW's house and ate a glorious amount of pasta. An enormous bowl worth of pasta (maybe a pound). After this, we played some Super Mario Bros. on Wii. Excellent game. Then BMW shows me the Wii Fit, and I was in like Finn. Had a great time playing the balance games, hula hooping, and nordic ski jumping. Jason B. mentioned that the mass amounts of hula hooping I was doing may come back to haunt me tomorrow. I am continually forgetting that I'm running a marathon tomorrow.

Oh well. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this will not be my last. Shooting for a time of 4 hours. No need to rush. I don't care to do Boston or New York City, so why shoot for a particular time?

18 out of 21 Days

Days are starting to blend together. I don't remember what training I did when. I ran for an hour the night before. Ran an hour and a half the day before that. I haven't actually been checking my mileage, which is a bit of a mistake.

Today, while I was getting my car's oil changed and tires rotated, I went for a little trot in Cakota. I ended up running almost the entire way to Drascal (6 miles away). At about 4.5 miles, I realized that I needed to turn around, otherwise I would overdo it before the marathon.

Issues: the shin splints are getting worse. That does not bode well for me. Also, it's way too hot out. I only ran for a little bit over an hour today, and ended up getting the salt crystals on my skin from sweat.

Things are gonna be interesting. While I kinda want to not do any marathons anymore, I also am tempted to sign up for either the Kroll's Diner Marathon in Bismarck or the Medtronic Marathon in the Twin Cities.

Glencoe Days

Did a race this morning. 2 mile run. 13:35. Tough to remember how to pace oneself when it's 2 miles, and I'm used to running at least 4 or 5.

Might do another run tonight.

Stupidity

So I had a 17 mile run on Monday. Then, on Tuesday I biked into work in the rain for the 17 miles. I discovered that my workplace is entirely uphill from where I live. There is one brief downhill with 3 miles left, but it's pretty short. It wasn't difficult, but it was the first time I had shifted gears on my bike for a long time. The rain and the wind were hard, but not too miserable. Not the most brilliant decision after how bad(ly) my legs were hurting. Then I spent two hours bouldering, and went for a brief run and had a wonderful sauna.

The outside of my left foot hurts though. I'm not sure why. I haven't been too hard on my feet lately. It feels a little bruised. Not good news considering how quickly the marathon is coming up.

I just ran 17 miles today in less than 2.5 hours. I am having trouble standing. It may be severe dehydration...Or that I pushed myself too hard...I don't know. I'm partially delusional. Please don't chase the cloud's pagoda.

Day 7

Is it day 7? Maybe it's day 8. Whatever. Anyway, did a nice 4.5 miler barefoot today. 40 minute run. Nice. Felt really good.

It's always nice to run barefoot. Those calluses are always a good feeling. It helps remind me of proper form also.

Today is an exception. Having a beer with grade school friends of my father. Therefore, I think after the thirteen miles last night, I'll be okay.

Half Marathon

Today I decided to go out and just run for two hours along the county roads outside of Glencoe. Ended up doing a little bit over a half marathon, in two hours. Feels good. Legs are in a bit of pain right now.

Goal tomorrow is to bike from Minneapolis to Glencoe. I think it's around 60 miles.

Day 4 of 21 Days

Day 4 of the 21 days went pretty well.
After work I went to the Hub Bike Coop to get my bike tire fixed. Then I went to Midwest Mountaineering to go bouldering with Diggidi. Bouldered for two hours. After that, I hit Hard Times for some dinner. Vegan biscuits and gravy. Then I went for a run in Minneapolis. 6.5 miles. Powderhorn Park to the Greenway, and to the Lake of the Isles. Then back along 31st to Powderhorn Park. Beautiful run. Beautiful day.

Day 3

Day 3 of the 21 days has not been going well. I got a flat tire about 2 miles outside of Glencoe. I am also having a difficult time finding a bike shop that can fix my tubular tires.

However, I still did my yoga this morning, and intend to go for a run directly after this post. It may be time to shave part of my beard.