THE MARATHON TRAINING BEGINS

It's the 25th of July and I'm in my second week of marathon training. 173 days left to go. So far, it's been brutal as Houston isn't known for its easy summers. Every mile in the park feels like cross training - an unnatural hybrid of running and swimming as the air is so thick. My friends and I call it Houston's Chewmidity Index as in, "Houston's air always seems humid enough to chew." While this may do wonders for my skin, it certainly impedes my desire to get out and train.

So I have gotten out of the habit of daily exercise and careful eating since January. Excuses have been plentiful. February was recovery from the marathon. March and April were casual (and I had the play). In May and June, things were sacrificed to other projects and work and my first real rest since the play. And then of course, ...I just didn't wanna. Okay, now it's the end of July. There is no time left to goof off. I need to reignite the fires that got me running in the first place.

The goals are simple. I want to finish the Houston Marathon in under 6 hours. I want to wear size 34 jeans before I turn 41. Finally, I would like to step on a scale and not see a 2. That's it.

How far away am I? ...Far away. Far.  Think of your hopes for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull versus the the reality of that film.  That's how distant my goal is from reality right now.

I mean yesterday, I ran intervals for 2.25 miles and then walked it in to complete my loop. That's a bad sign. Slight back spasm and the heat was a killer. I am out there again today and my plan is to make it all around without slowing once. Also, I need to keep working on my core. As Dad always said every morning he dropped us off for school, "Today's the day to start the big push."  Big push.  Got it.  Big push.  Here's to hoping the advice means more to me now than it did when I endured Latin class.