8 Years ago today I ran the race that would make me “A Runner”. I had run only one race for and that was Stroh's Run for Liberty in 1976 which was a 2k, yes, I am old. I still have my race bib for it and a results book. It was a race that was run simultaneously across the entire United States and I ran the Richmond, Virginia flavor. I have no idea what my time was but I do remember running on the streets.

Fast Forward 22 years and Jen and I had been in Knoxville for close to two years and living in an apartment while I was working in Oak Ridge and she a grad student at UT. My friend Gray from Knoxville was visiting and call to ask if I wanted to run a 8k. He had found on the Knoxville Track Club website that they were having the Smoky Mountain Half Marathon and 8k that Saturday morning. So, I said “Sure, what's an 8k”, he replied “5 miles”. “5 miles… oh… okay”. So I decided that I should at least run once before the weekend so that I could complete the 5 miles. I was playing indoor soccer, so there was some aerobic conditioning there and I ran 2 some miles, at Lakeshore Greenway, I think. I don't remember.

If you have never been to the start of a running race of any length, there is alot of excitement and energy being passed around among all the people. The race was held in the town of Townsend (funny since I have an ex-girlfriend with the same last name) and right along the river and is near the entrance to Cades Cove, a very popular place in the Smokies. The gun went off and we moved forward. I had no idea how I paced myself, but Gray commented that were running consistently. The 8k course was very flat and level, not flat and very gentle hills. I can remember being able to hold a conversation at the turn around point and I would like to think that I picked it up at the end. I will have to ask Gray about his recollection of the race. We went back to the room where they had all the refreshments out: Donuts, Bagels, Fruit, Coffee, water… plus they had a bunch of race forms for upcoming races and I grabbed ALL of them. One of the race forms I picked up was for the Trideltathon, a sprint triathlon, here in Knoxville used as a fund raiser for the Delta Delta Delta (can I help ya, Help ya, Help ya) Sorority. I told Gray that he HAD to come to Knoxville to compete in it with me. We now have this as an annual event and I have not missed a Trideltathon since I started back in 1998, only the Scholar's Run is only other race that I have ran each year since 1998.

Look back at my Race History and I ran the Smoky Mountain race 4 times: twice as an 8k participant and twice as a half-marathoner. In fact, my current Half Marathon PR time of 1:49:45 was secured at the 2002 running of the event. The event changed it's length a couple of times due to construction in the area but was always a two event distance race. It was eventually mothballed after 2004 due to the coming of the Knoxville Marathon (which is run in the city) in its time slot. Townsend does have a new race, but I haven't run it.

Today's run was, did you guess it? an 8k run from the Aquatic Center to JW Greenway and back… maybe I will make that a tradition. Here are the split times:

So, 8 years… 118 organized races and 3,498 logged miles… I AM A RUNNER

These are really here for my own prosperity

I had to run a few errands today at lunch, so it worked out that I went ahead and took today off. Now, tomorrow is a SPECIAL day for me, so I had to make sure that I get a run in tomorrow. More on that… well, tomorrow!

okay, I figured out the pictures. I am trying to shake my dependence on Adobe Photoshop and switch to The Gimp. The Gimp is an open source photo editing software that is about or the same as Photoshop, but with out the hundred of dollar price tag. I was running into some differential problems between what I know about Photoshop and the on-the-fly learning with The Gimp. Soooooooo… ladies and germs, without delay the pictures from Saturday

I ended up lancing it Saturday night and like a good runner, I used a safety pin to drain it! Ignore the ugly toes.

I left a bottle of Gatorade in the brush for later at mile 4. So, I got caught when I hid the bottle AND when I picked it upI also caught my shirt in the barbs as well. I mean, it had been over 2 hours since I had been there…

Cut out of me after the run. I was pretty tired afterwards and ate just about a whole rack of ribs at lunch. The only reason that I didn't eat the whole thing is that I had to share.

If you remember back to Oct 21, 2005 I mentioned that I was applying for sponsorship for the Team Elite by Powerbar

Here is the response from an email on 2/23/06:

Thank you so much for your application to PowerBar Team Elite™

We have enjoyed reading each and every inspiring application we received. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your enthusiasm and loyalty to our products, your athletic drive and your interest in PowerBar Team Elite™. All of our athletes/coaches/teams are important to us, whether on Team Elite as official brand ambassadors or out there in the sports arena training, competing and instructing.

Unfortunately, with a competitive pool of over 4,500 applications, we had to make some tough decisions. We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a spot on PowerBar Team Elite™ 2006-2007. Letter notification has also been sent to you via U.S. Mail along with a box of PowerBars to help you with your training. Thank you for taking the time and energy to apply to our program and we wish you the best of luck this year.

We would ALSO love to continue our relationship with you. We would like to offer you the unique opportunity to join the PowerBar PowerPanel!

But WAIT… there is MORE.

After my long run on Saturday, Jen left to meet one of her customers. She called shortly afterwards and said that FedEx had left a package in the garage. That package was address to me… and I wondered what I had “ordered” that would have arrived by FedEx on a Saturday. Inside were 2 things… this letter:

and a box of 12 PowerBar Performance (the original) bars. Now, Apple Cinnamon is not my favorite flavor, but who I am to snub my nose at $16.80 retail or $11.06 WMD (Wal-Mart Dollars)

Here is my very FIRST mail art from Greekchickie… thanks M.

Do you like free stuff? Well Gillete is offering a FREE VenusVibe after rebate! All you have to do is click on this link. Now the guys out there are saying… “I ain't using no girlie razor”… dude, it's FREE and the blades are so much nicer on your skin that the regular Man blades. Did you know that the Mach 3 handle accepts the Venus Divine heads? No you know and as G.I. Joe used to say “Knowing is half the battle!”

I did it! I made the 22 mile trek on Saturday Morning… from 5:30ish to about 9:15, I was trekking across Farragut and West Knoxville. I did stay true to the map that I posted a couple of days ago and my voice post was just as I was turning around after my stop at Pilot to get some Gatorade.

I had pictures, but the editing turned out like crap, so I will have to redo them. I was hoping that the pictures would say more than I needed to!

I averaged a 9:54 pace, but some of that included waiting for traffic lights, crosswalks, etc. I even took a 4 minute 28 second break at Pilot for the aforementioned gatorade. I had to stretch a few times as well. I will have to think about my times and see what I should be shooting for at Knoxville in March. I know that my last mile distorted my pace because that last mile is in my sub-division and is ALL uphill, or most of it. Laura would smile that I played Sir Mixalot, to get up some of the hills. I would run as hard as I could until my legs were like lead (which wasn't too far). I'd then had to walk, motivate myself and then do it again but I made it.

I haven't been all that sore… which has been nice. I had a great picture of my toe… I'll have to see what went wrong with the pics… GRRRRRRRRR.

I took Sunday off and will take Monday as well. I'll have Tues/Wed/Thurs and then off on Friday. I am interviewing the Knoxville Track Club Volunteer Coordinator for the podcast Phedippidations for an upcoming episode. Steve was so kind to play my submission for this past week's episode #33 “The Marathon Mystique”. I also have an idea for Runcast Weekly that I want to submit and if my recording hardware was functional, it would have been perfect to record on this last long run *sigh*

So I am going to save the narrative of my run for when I get the pictures ready… maybe tonight or tomorrow.

I wasn't going to take this test but…

My Personal Dna Report

www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=36108

Okay, so tomorrow is DO or DIE! It will be my only 20+ mile long run of this marathon training campaign. I will have to look but it will not be the first marathon that I have had one or less 20+ long runs. The purpose of the long run is to acustom your body to the fatigue of running the marathon. 20 miles is a good round number that is typically used to mark the distance at which you might experience, “The Wall”, which is nothing more than your body running out of the easy energy it needs to perform the work that you are asking it to do.

Here is my run for tomorrow, an 11 miler out-and-back course with Weigels (East TN 7-11s) and Pilot Gas Stations strategically located. I should be on greenways for the first 6 and last 6 of the run and should be well protected from vehicular traffic.

Current weather looks good, in the 40s - that means shorts and not Almost Tights, probably 2 LS Coolmax shirts w/o a Jacket. Probably will need a hat, maybe gloves for the first part of the run. Looking for a 9:45ish average pace and that will put me home around 9:30 if I can leave by 5:45.