Today’s Goal: 3 miles
Actual Distance: 4.1 miles
Time: 42:06
Weather: Sunny; no humidity; 83 degrees
Time of Day: 11:45 AM
Notes: Energy was lacking today. Hamstrings are super sore from Sunday’s long run. Had to walk a few times. Got into a pretty good groove after mile 2.

Tomorrow’s Goal: 5 miles

Here comes the cat…

Since I started running with a fair amount of consistency close to four years ago, I have found that I have thoroughly enjoyed running 5Ks a handful of times per year. Having a race on the calendar within my foreseeable future motivates me. That race day is a goal to work toward that offers the reward of achievement – and usually a free t-shirt and bagels!

This makes me want more. And by “more” I mean “longer.” I need more miles. I have run two 5 mile races within the past year, one on a really cold day in November, and the other over hills that were more than I had bargained for. But I need more.

So, where’s the cat, Snyder?

Just before I open the bag, let me say that I was registered to run a half marathon in New York this past March. But I couldn’t pull it off. My 12-week training plan started January 1 and got clobbered by snow and ice left and right. Attempting to train through winter for my first long distance race was not a good idea. However, a bigger obstacle that I could not overcome was a lower back/hip problem that I seemed to have inflicted upon myself after a night of bowling, of all things! I have always hated bowling, mainly because it presents a high risk of public embarrassment. Something I have experienced first hand. The harsh memory of crowds of strangers laughing at me as my grandfather’s old 16-pound bowling ball slipped off my hand and skidded backward away from the alley some thirty years ago should have been enough to keep me miles away from any bowling establishment forever. (That notch carved out in the thumb hole may have worked well for Pop in his day, but it became the cause of my public demise… lurking there for years… waiting… coaxing me to slip my thumb in and give it a whirl. It was a thorn of kryptonite in my achilles tendon, so to speak.) So, last December, I gave into peer pressure. I went bowling. Bowling won again. I could barely walk the next day and running became unpleasant. Add to this my stubborn resistance to seeing a doctor for three months and it all equals race failure in March.

Now, I let the cat out of the bag…

With the advent of warmer weather, abstinence from bowling, and an anti-inflammatory prescription for what turned out to be sciatica, I was able to nurse myself back into shape for consistent running. I have since registered for my second half marathon. Well, the second one I’ve paid for, the first I will actually run – provided I avoid doing anything stupid like bowling. Sunday marked 9 weeks to go until race day.

So, what’s the big deal, Snyder? Who cares?

What? You don’t like my cat, man?

The deal, regardless of how big it is or isn’t for anyone other than me, is that I need a means of accountability. And this gosh-dang website is going to serve as the forum for that, since I own this place. Read it, if you want. Leave comments. Make all the Forrest Gump wisecracks you want. Tell me I’m dumb. Tell me I suck at bowling. (Like I haven’t heard that before.) This is more for me than it is for you. So there.

The cat is out of the bag. My intention is to post a daily update of my progress (in the above format) from now until October 19, or the day thereafter, if I survive the 13.1 miles. If I can get to that day without injury, I think I can make it to the finish line… with my mantra being, “T-shirt and bagels! T-shirt and bagels!” or maybe, “It’s better to run than bowl!”

I went running this afternoon despite the pouring rain that has been soaking New Jersey all day (and is forecast to continue into tomorrow). Five soggy miles that were the most refreshing part of my day. With the amount of aggravation I’ve been coping with at work lately, I was pretty much living for this run today. In the morning, a coworker asked, “You’re not going out there in this weather, are you?” I assured her, “Yes! I need to get away from my cube!” To which she replied, “That’s crazy! You must really hate your job!” I ventured out around 1:30 in the afternoon.

The rain wasn’t all that bad. It stung my face a little now and then. It got chilly in the wind for a while. But I must have somewhat of a half-drowned spectacle near the end because somewhere close to the four mile mark, while my sweatpants and jacket were thoroughly soaked and weighed half a ton each, a car slowed down. The driver lowered a window and blew the horn as I was passing by. I stopped thinking that maybe she needed directions.

“Do you need a ride somewhere or something?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do YOU need a RIDE? Can I help you?”

“Ohhhh! No! I’m out for a run!”

That gal’s eyes opened so wide, I thought she was Marty Feldman for a second!

“THAT’S CRAZY!”

“Noooo! I only have a mile to go! Thanks!”

I sloshed my way through that last mile.

I guess some people think going out in the rain is crazy. It’s just water. As long as there is no lightning and no high winds, I love running in the rain.

Here is what is crazy: at the end of that five miles in the rain, I am still 25 pounds overweight. THAT is crazy. That is like carrying around a large bag of dog food every day. I am 214 right now. I lost 8 pounds over the last 3 weeks. Four years ago I was tipping the scale at 236. I lost 40 pounds over several months. Slowly over the next three years, I gained over half of it back. That has to change. I’m tired of carrying dog food. I’d rather be healthy, even if it requires being a little crazy once in a while.