Running With a Corkscrew

White people dancing

Sep 6, 2008
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Good thing its blurred. Nothing like a rousing rendition of Celebrate Good Times to get them going.
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One of the perks of working the Wisconsin market.

Sep 5, 2008
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Friday Fish Fry
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Wisconsin lakeside

Sep 5, 2008
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I have mixed feelings about training with a group. I love the group per se, we are a diverse bunch who come together once a week to do the long run with an experienced pacer. I know that as the runs get longer, it will be great to have the company. Today we ran 9 miles at a 10 minute pace. I opted to not go with the 9:30 group because I had a long week and I was tired. A good decision. By mile 6, I was feeling a bit weary and my legs were sooooo heavy. This is not typical of how I feel when I run that distance so I attribute it to the long days and late nights at Pinot Camp, the time zone adjustment, and the long 14 hour day on Thursday. As the season progresses, I need to be a bit more conservative so I am well rested by the time Saturday comes along. This was the last easy week. Next week, the mileage will ramp up into the teens and I need to increase the mileage in my mid-week runs.

I feel strong......my body is starting to get back in tune after the long winter hiatus. I struggled early on but now am starting to get that supple feeling again and I am so happy. I ran while in Oregon, had a good morning on the track one day, had some good aerobic cross training, all while gathering with 250 people who eat and drink for a living.

The training group is a strong motivator and gives me the discipline to get out each week and do the long run. I committed and so now its easy to get up at 5:45 am on a Saturday and its great when the long run is done and its before noon. I have my whole day ahead of me and I can go out on a Saturday night and have a few glasses of wine. When I trained alone, I would have the tendency to put it off until Sunday and then, not get out until later in the day. This became grueling on those mid-summer days when the temperatures got hot and the sun was high. What I miss about training alone is the solitude. I cherish those times that I am alone with my thoughts and music. I put the past week behind me and begin to think about what needs to be done come Monday. I think about my future and where I want to be in six months or 5 years. I daydream about that trip to India that I want to plan for next February or think about sex and how lucky I am to have it as good as I do. The randomness of my thoughts is one of the joys of my long runs. I can cover a lot of ground in 15 miles and its a good way to do some mental housecleaning. I might have to skip the training group once a month and just go out on my own.