You're supposed to prepare for a race?

I have nobody to blame but myself. And, certainly, I can't really have high expectations when I do the exact opposite of proper race preparation. I stayed up until 1 AM (-ish), enjoying a few glasses of wine and a couple of cigars. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling on top of my game when I got up this morning.

Okay, the race sucked, and I didn't reach my goal. Something much better resulted from the day, however, since we got to hang out all morning with Neese and her co-worker Wayne, as well as spending some time chatting with the G-Man. I tell you, folks, Neese is one of the sweetest and best natured people you are likely to meet. Grace normally takes a while to warm up to new people, but not her; instantly she grew comfortable and even sat with Neese during the door prizes and awards presentos. Thanks Neese for encouraging me to run today, giving us the chance to finally meet. Mendy and I had a really great time!

After that, we went and had a (quite sinful) lunch at Sticky Fingers. Cheddar fries for an app (about 3K calories each), followed by a beef brisket sandwich for me. We both felt hugely guilty afterwards, and went for a walk around lovely downtown Greenville. A nap was attacking me, so we went up to CT for a jolt of caffeine: "dirty hippie" for me and skinny mocha for Mendy. Ben rocks! I also got some (fairly stern) advice about doing the full marathon in Arizona. I think, as much as it pains me to say this, I really won't consider doing it. Just the half for me. Good thing, because running is the devil!

Then some shopping ensued, and we picked up some running and fitness gear. We ran into Holly and her mom, and chatted for a bit. Hopefully she will hang out with is some while Roby is out of town. Interesting shopping note: Brooks has these neat dayglo yellow running hats with reflective panels and a blinky light on the rear. Pretty sweet! We got matching ones. Time was running out, and Grace wanted fries for dinner. Yep, fries. Since we were in the Shops of Gridlock (as Neese calls it), we opted to go to Red Robin. Due to the guilt from lunch, we opted for healthy meals (salad for me, wrap for Mendy) while Grace tore up a corn dog. Funny thing: didn't eat ONE french fry.

Finally we made it home to watch Clemson play well until they were allowed the opportunity to throw away the game in the 4th quarter like a bunch of ding-dongs. Same as it ever was.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

And now, a brief intermission...

I guess I couldn't go too long without testing myself against others. After INTENSE prodding by Neese (okay, she mentioned and suggested it, once each), I signed up for this race tomorrow morning. Am I "ready"? Um, no. The last 5K road race was in Jan, and it was about 20:45 (official time), so I have a decent goal to beat...not at my prime. My legs are still a bit sore after Wednesday's workout, and I haven't been doing any speed work at all. But, I will give it all I have and hope to get a PR out of it. RR to follow...

In other news: The lifting is less inspired than before, so I really need to buck up the aerobic base-building and running. Especially if I plan to upgrade to the full 26.2 in January (Lori, did you know it's only $35?). I have been longing for the high intensity training even more in the past couple of weeks. I know the resistance training is important, and everything I do now affects my performance next season, so I have to box in my focus and realize the near-term goals. In the end, I suppose it's a very good thing that I hunger for the next phase, instead of dreading it. That way I will be able to periodize much more effectively and easily.

While I'm running my 3.1 miles tomorrow, UltraBob and Scott will be killing it on the JFK Ultra 50 miler. Go get 'em, guys! And to those of us running the Turkey Trot (like Neese and I think Chris and wife Janis), have a blast and do your best! To all others, have a great weekend!