The State of ME

With the presidents State of the Union address tonight coinciding with today being the official kick-off day for my 18 week training program for the Bayshore Marathon, it seems like an ideal time to step back and take my own personal overview of where things stand. On this blog, I'm The Decider and so get to make the only speech. Like the Democratic response tonight, your rebuttal will be confined to the lesser forum of blog comments.

I accept your applause, fake smiles, and oddly detached, impersonal hand shakes.

Staring down the barrel of another 18 week training plan, I'm a little nervous and a little excited. These next 18 weeks will be a bit more intense than the last. More miles. More sweat. More aches and pains. Worse weather.

I won't have the excitement - and fear - of training for my FIRST MARATHON to motivate me.

I won't be training for a large, crowd-friendly event. This will be small and sparsely attended. I will need to look inward more to carry myself through.

Though the energy created by the debut marathon has faded, it has been replaced with a confidence that wasn't there before. A marathon distance is achievable. I can and will run the distance strong. I know that now.

As of the start of this program, I weigh 163 pounds - down from 172 last summer. My body weight is good. My overall health is excellent. The foot pain from last October has receded to a minor, very occasional ache. No concerns.

I will continue to run 3-4 days per week. I will continue to weight train 1-2 days per week. I will continue to crunch out 580 sit ups 4 times per week (don't ask me why I settled on that number).

I continue to monitor my nutrition. Not fanatically. There is still plenty of room for beer, pizza, and the occasional fast food meal. But I'm trending towards more fruit and vegetables and less caffeine. And that is good.

My plan is in place. My goals are attainable.

I look forward to the next 18 weeks and embrace the challenge of taking the next step toward a Boston Qualifier.

I look forward to the flat, fast Bayshore course.

I look forward to experiencing a small, quiet course without the many distractions. I embrace the challenge of taking on Bayshore in a more one on one, me versus the road, simple structure.

I look forward to the sweat, miles, and smiles on the way to the finish line.

Overall, the state of ME....is good. And ready to roll.

Happy trails.

At this point, I assume there is applause all around. I believe I struck a bi-partisan note.