What's Next?

I have not done a scrap of physical activity all week. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Rien. Res. Niente. Nichts. Othing-nay. My bike and running shoes are still packed. I haven't read any blogs, and I haven't picked up any books (right now I'm reading Lance Armstrong's book, and Jack Daniels' Running formula). I have watched about 15 hours of reruns, stayed up till 11 o'clock every night, and woken up at 6:30 every morning. I have had coffee every day, often several times a day. I have been eating crap food: cookies, burritos, pizza, white pasta in cheesy sauce, white bread, Twizzlers, Cheeze-Its... I have been getting fat.

And it feels like crap.

I know everyone needs to take a break after a big A race, and I'm taking mine. But it's a slippery slope. If I'm staying up late and eating like crap, it's only a matter of time before the idea occurs to me: Why don't I just have a drink? I don't have to be in bed early. I don't have to work out in the morning. If I feel like crap I can just get coffee... Just this once... But with me it never IS "Just this once..." It drives me nuts when people say, "You can't be an alcoholic! You're so young!"

Just trust me on this one...

I've been urged to go to AA several times by several different people, but I just don't want to, and you can't make me. All that stuff about sitting around in a room with a bunch of addicts talking about our addictions just seems like it would make me want a drink. And anyway, all that stuff about finding a higher power... it's just not me. Shane's friend, Jenny, decided that her higher power would be Jessica Beil, because she's hot. That seemed like as good a reason as any for Jenny, but I don't think I trust Jessica Beal enough with a responsibility like that, hot or not.

This athletic thing seems to work for me. If I've always got some big race on the horizon, something that I HAVE TO stick to my training for, then I'm okay. But it's gotta be something hard. It's gotta be something that, unless I do the training, I won't finish. If I'm scared enough, I'll behave myself.

So I'll be shifting gears, but I won't be parking the car this fall. From next week until January, I'll be focusing on running. I am going to learn to run fast! I decided about a month ago that I was going to train to qualify for Boston at Disney World in January, not from an irresistible drive to run Boston again, but because it is an established goal set by somebody else. You are not a true distance runner until you have qualified for Boston, period. This is not a goal that is fast "for me", this is someone else's definition of "fast", and I am going to spend the next 5 months trying to achieve it. I am going to learn to run 26.2 consecutive 8:24-minute miles. From what I can gather, learning to run fast is about learning to suffer. I can live with that, why didn't anyone ever tell me that before?!

I have spoken to Iron Matron, Mindy, and Cranky, some of the best marathon runners I know, to try and get their advice on what elements I'll need to run faster. I'm even willing to listen to them. I'm reading the books that Iron Matron recommended to me, and am basing main points of the training program around that.

But first I have some OTHER unfinished business. I told myself last October that I was going to run a 50 mile race this fall, so until November, my weekends are going to be focused on that. During the week will be all about running faster, and on the weekend I'll be doing the back-to-back long runs that I will need to do to train for Goofy, but I will be doing them on trails (and they'll be just a smidgen longer). You can see my training plan here. (The only thing I would like to point out on the training plan is that: A. runs will probably be a bit shorter the day before long trail races, B. Long runs on trail will involve walking, and slow running, so it's not as much distance as it looks like, and C. days off are on an as-needed basis, not scheduled).

No advice, please. If I haven't asked you already, I probably don't want your opinion on the matter. Sorry. So if you've run a couple of marathons, and happen to be gifted enough to run faster than me, (or worse, if you've just read a book and think you know all about the matter) keep your trap shut and save it for someone who cares. (Experienced ultrarunners' advice welcome!)

So without further adu, here is a list of my scheduled appearances for the fall/winter 2008-2009 season:
August 17, Savoy Mountain 20 Miler in Savoy, MA (Berkshires)
August 24 Green Lakes 50K, in Fayetteville, NY (Near Syracuse)
September 7, Curly's Marathon in Pittsfield, MA (Berkshires) OR Three Notch Century in Lincoln, NH (White Mountains)
September 13, Lobsterman Olympic Triathlon in Freeport, ME
September 14, Pisgah Mountain 50K or 23K in Chesterfield, NH (Southwestern NH)
September 28, Vermont 50K in Brownsville, VT with Maine Runner
October 11, Finger Lakes 50K in Finger Lakes National Forest, NY
October 26, Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon in Albany, NY
November 1, Busa Bushwhack 15K in Framingham, MA (nearby), site of my first showdown with Grandpa.
November 9, Stonecat 50 Miler in Ipswitch, MA (North Shore, MA)
January 10 and 11, Goofy Challenge in Orlando, FL (Half marathon on Saturday, full on Sunday) with Angry and Leana.

So I've got a lot of driving to do.

Beyond that, ideas are hazy. I'm going to try to sign up for Ironman Kentucky whenever that is (November? October?), and give a shot to a Hawaii slot, just to say I did it. After my run-specific block I'm going to hang up the running shoes again and focus on riding, maybe even getting a cycling license and getting into some real bike racing. Next year will really tell if I continue with this triathlon business or just pursue cycling. AIDS LifeCycle is out for next year, since I have a wedding to go to in England Memorial Day weekend, but I had a better idea. Shane might come with me to the wedding, and then we would cross the channel into France and ride our bikes down to Barcelona, doing our own Tour de France.

So, as you can see, I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve. Please be patient while I try to get my mind back into blogging. Thanks for all your support in Vineman, and I'll see you at the races (or at the very least, the race reports).