7 Bridges, Here I Come!

I just registered for my first marathon!  YAY!  I guess it's kind of silly since I've done most of the training already, and it is a matter of weeks now till race day.  That's how I always do it...wait until I'm sure I really want to.  It's not the best method since I never get the early bird discount.  But, I'm excited and freaking nervous about October 21.  I couldn't ask for a better place to run.  Chattanooga is gorgeous!  What do you think?

and...

and...

and there are three more bridges that I get to run across on my way to finishing my first 26.2 miles!

It's going to be awesome!  Recently, with the weather cooling down, my runs have been getting better. I haven't been as wasted at the end, the speed has been picking up, and my shoes haven't been a soaking mess at the end of the run.  I can only imagine what the cool temperatures of late October will be like.

This weekend is Jenn's brother's wedding, and it's up in Chattanooga.  I'm planning on driving the course to get an idea of what I will be running.  What's nice is that I've run the last seven miles of it that are on a riverwalk next to the river so many times that it is familiar territory.  I'm sure I'll need the familiarity for those last miles.

So, with an 18 miler and a 20 miler left for my major long runs, I'm feeling like I can do the whole thing.  The mental battle is what is going to be the hardest for me.  This last Sunday, I was scheduled for a 12 miler and went out pretty fast with the idea that I would fade, but my time wouldn't fade as bad if I started out slower.  It worked out well, and I was pleased with my time at the end.  I'm thinking about doing this for the 18er on Sunday to see how it works.  I don't think there's any hope of a negative split.  What do you think?

I will say that without the awesome support of my wife, I wouldn't be able to reach this huge accomplishment!  She is such an awesome cheerleader, coach, sherpa, support crew, and I'm so thankful for her!

Thanks for reading.

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! Let's go racing, boys!

I love the South!  I've lived here my whole life (except for being uprooted to live in Southwest Michigan for 2 years).  Everything is so chill here.  Everyone is so friendly.  It's my home.  Oh yeah, and Nascar is pretty big here too!

This past weekend, our good friends, Josh and Brittany, come up from Macon, GA area to visit us.  They had a wedding to go to, plus it was Labor Day, so they had some free time.  They just got a new puppy, and Jenn and I really wanted to see her too.  Here is Keilah and Maglee having a good time together.

The pups had a lot of fun playing together, and Maglee was so good with the little puppy!  I can't wait to see how she'll do with our little boy.  I know she'll be so gentle and sweet and probably a little protective.

Then, Sunday came, and oh what a day it was!  Despite the 100% chance of rain forecasted by Weather.com, Josh and I drove the 1.5 hours to the bottom of Atlanta to go see the Sprint Cup Nascar race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  It was AWESOME!  It didn't rain a drop, and it was just a lot of fun. Not only was the race quite an experience, but the study of humanity was a blast as well.  We had a this one guy in front of us that completely wasted and kept trying to get it on with the girl next to him.  We had two guys sitting next to us that downed a 12-pack and walked out halfway through the race.  (I wonder who the designated driver was)  We had people all around us that we all screaming for their driver and getting offended at others that cheered for different drivers.  It was pretty awesome!  I even got to see Danika Patrick.  Here are a couple shots from the race.

Yesterday, Jenn and I decided that it was time to paint our room.  We've been slowly making progress on our house, one room at a time, and it was time for our bedroom to get a little love.  It still has a long way to go, including a bedskirt that is being made by my mom, and a headboard that still needs to be bought or created, but it's starting to come together...

I haven't really been too vocal about training recently, but then again, I haven't been blogging recently either!  If you didn't know, I'm training for my first marathon.  It's happening on October 21 in Chattanooga, TN.  So far, I've been following Hal Higdon's marathon training plan, and I'm doing alright.  I did go through a spell of really bad runs, and I almost said "Forget It!"  But, I'm still running, and I think I'll make it.  I had to make a change in where I was running, because I would get dominated by all the hills and the unknown territory around here.  I run so much better when I know what to expect.  Also, I was so lonely running by myself that I had a hard time not just walking when it hurt.  (I know, sometimes I'm a pansy! :))  So, I asked Jenn if she would ride her bike next to me for my long runs, and she has been doing it ever since..  We have a park that is just a few minutes from our house that has a beautiful 2.2 mile loop around a lake. (Miller Lake Trail)

We've been going there for my long runs, and she sherpas my water and nutrition for me.  After every run, I feel so incredibly grateful for my awesome wife!  How much more blessed can I be?  Without her, I couldn't do it!!!  This past Sunday, I ran 16 miles which is the farthest I have ever run!  It hurt SO bad, but I did it!  Now all I have to be able to do is tag an extra 10 miles onto that come race day.  No big deal, right?

Finally, I wanted to let you see my beautiful wife and BABY.  This was actually a couple weeks ago, but you can see how big that little guy is getting.  Thanks for reading!