Mother Nature is a Bitch!

Well last week threw a major wrench into my marathon training program. On Tuesday, I experienced my first earthquake. It is an experience that I can honestly say I NEVER want to relive. After standing outside of our office for over an hour, we were told to go home. Most people went straight home. I went to the bar. The last thing on my mind was my run. I needed a drink!

Just when we thought DC was in the clear Irene shows up on our radar. I spent the next few days following the bitch’s path. We heard she could be a possible Cat 2 or Cat 3 storm by the time it got to DC. Luckily, she wasn’t as intense as projected and she hit east of DC. No need to worry though my friends and I still had a great hurricane party.

The result of this second disaster was I missed my long run on Sunday. Sundays are the worst days to miss during the training program. I realize the hurricane was beyond my control and I can’t beat myself up about it. My number goal right now is to get back on track. The author of my program says that if you miss a run you just have to move on. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I plan to run a half marathon on September 10^th in Georgetown. It’s a small 9/11 memorial race with only 250 registrants. I’m looking forward to running this race. I think it’s going to be a great motivator for the remaining days leading up to the marathon. I just hope I don’t finish last!    

It’s time!

My 16 week marathon training is in full swing. I’m really excited that I’ve started this insane journey. I am fully aware that it will be challenging. There will be times that I will love it and times where I will curse it. But there is nothing better than pushing yourself to a limit. I think much of the appeal of running a marathon is proving to yourself that you can do something many people think you can’t. That is certainly on my list of reasons… Dad!

My training program consists of 4 training runs and 2 days of core strength training. I’m not a huge fan of the core training but I know it is a necessary part of the program. I ran 8 miles yesterday and felt great. The weather cooled down slightly to 88 degrees which was nice. I still have a long way to go if I’m going to cross the 26.2 mile finish line though. I plan to just take things one mile at a time.  

Here are a couple of fun photos from a run Laura and I did over the 4^th of July weekend. Enjoy!  

Before the run


After the run