Rise and Shine

I'm not typically a morning person (excluding Christmas and leaving on vacations), but yesterday gave me a reason to envy those who are.

As I was coaxing my body to get up out of bed, I began the task of problem solving. How in the world I was going to fit my run into a very crammed schedule? My dinner plans complicated the matter further. You see, I had a meeting at one of Knoxville's great institutions, Chandler's Deli. If you are ever in Knoxville you really should try this place out. After eating a pice of fried chicken that was 2 pounds, plus a side of homemade mac & cheese, plus a side of fried okra, plus a fresh cornbread muffin, I didn't want to find out what would happen even if I could run after such a meal. So, the morning was my only other option.

I went for a run around campus at about 8 o'clock. I decided to take my predetermined 3-mile route that passes many campus landmarks including Neyland Stadium and The Rock. It was such a nice morning. The temperature was just cold enough to see your own breath and this was refreshing in a lot of ways. I felt as if I could play the staring role in a Ricola commercial. It was difficult to get started. The cold air prevented my muscles from warming up how their accustomed to doing. Thus, my pace was off and it took me a second to lock down my breathing. But once all that fell into place, brilliant. If there is a zone, I was in it that morning.

Despite all the overwhelming evidence to pursue running in the morning, it has not and probably never will convert me. However, when the opportunity rises, I should think hard about my decision. And after I'm done thinking, I'll close my eyes, go back to sleep and envy those morning folks.

The Big Decision

So why am I doing this, running a marathon? A better question is how did I get to the point of asking such a question. Well, last year I climbed Mt. Whitney (14,497 ft) that experience was one of the most difficult things I have ever done physically. I loved the process that was involved in training for Whitney. I started to eat healthier, exercise more often, and felt better mentally.

After the adventure was over, I was glad not to go to the gym. I was even happier not hiking in my plastic boots anymore. But after some time, I was ready for another adventure. As some of you know, I spent two months in Calgary and while living there I decided when I returned I would begin training for Knoxville's Marathon. I remember sharing this news with my wife, Rachel, and I think her response was "Ah, ok , that's great". She's always been supportive at what I'm doing. In fact, she was a major reason I was even able to climb Mt. Whitney.

My plane touched down in Knoxville and shortly there after we began to run together. Yes we. Rachel's caught the bug as well and is training for a half marathon. We've been running since mid July of this year and we are both going strong.

I feel like the past couple of months has groomed me for what is about to come. My training schedule will start on November 16th, that's about 19 weeks before the actual marathon. There have been days where the last thing I want to do is run. I know there will be more days like that to come. But, more often than not a day when I run is wonderful. It'll be interesting to see how this blog thing holds up in the coming weeks. I hope it does. And I hope you all enjoy reading it.

Warning to my readers

Before I write my first post into cyberspace, I want to warn my fellow readers that I am not a professional writer. So, please excuse the occasional misspellings, typos, and grammatical errors. My intention of starting a blog is to reflect upon this experience. I've never really kept a journal of any kind. But, I've always envied those who did. There have been several friends that blogged about such experiences in their lives (you know who you are) and it has been a pleasure to read them. So, onto the blogging and here's to putting my best foot forward.