Some fun quotes

There are two kinds of people, those who run and those who should.

You have a choice; you can either throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.

I train because there are two ways to get fast and I haven't found the other.

No one gets faster without meeting their personal pain barrier straight on. No amount of junk miles, fun runs or affirmations are going to get you over the hill at the five mile mark in a 10k. However, what will pull you through is solid prep with hard hill runs and interval work.


Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.



...One my way to the pool one evening, I noticed a young boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old, standing alone at home plate in an empty baseball field. His actions struck me as curious and I found myself so fascinated that I just sat in my car and watched.


He was standing at home plate swinging his arms around wildly. Suddenly, without warning, he bolted towards first base. As he rounded first base, he through his arms up and ran around the bases waving his fists above his head. At that moment, I knew what had happened. He had hit the winning home run, and was running the bases. His joy was the joy that many of us feel every time we put on our running shoes. It is a joy that is rooted not in PRs but resides deep in our imaginations.

Those of you at the front may be doers, and I applaud your accomplishments. But from the mid-pack back, we are dreamers living out a fantasy that is no less real that the boy in the ball park.

The lesson I learned, again, from this boy was that it is important to put action into your dreams. It wasn't enough for him to hit the winning home run in his mind. He needed his body to experience the real sensation of running the bases.

I am often asked by well meaning non-runners and some not so kind eagles and sparrows if I get bored running as slowly as I do. My answer is always; NO ! How can I be bored when I'm leading the Boston Marathon? How can I be bored when I am locked in mortal combat with the memory of a mean spirited elementary P.E. teacher. How can I be bored when I am running down that junior high bully? After a lifetime of running from, how can I be bored running to.

- John Bingham

Sally Meyerhoff

Sally Meyerhoff, a runner from Tempe, AZ was killed yesterday on her bike.  She was the fastest person I've ever met.  Very tragic.  I might have met her a couple times and she was really nice.  I just went on her blog and found an old quote that I like very much.

"It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for. It doesn’t interest me how old you are, I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine and still shout at the edges of a lake, river or mountain yes! It doesn’t interest me where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done for someone you love. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and truly like the company you keep in the empty moments in your life. Live more than your neighbors, unleash yourself upon the world and go places. Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal, this is it, your life. Face your fears and live your dreams, take it all in, yes, every chance you get, come close; and yes, by all means what ever you do, get it on film." - John Blais

Saturday ride, Sunday nothing so far...

I'm going to call it a sort of productive weekend. 

I'll start with today and my complaining.  I got up early and didn't do anything.  I have no idea why.  I'm starting to think that maybe I like the idea of being completely unprepared.

Saturday was a blast.  Very difficult.  Matt and I left from my house for Bartlett Lake. 

It's probably the most brutal ride in town here.  It's uphill to the turnoff to the lake and then 14 miles to the lake.  It's three miles down with, three up, two down, one up, and four down to the water. 

Tradition holds that you dip your front wheel in the lake before you turn around and do it in reverse.  Matt said some nice words and a heartfelt prayer for Doug.  10 months ago today.

I think the last time I did this ride was 2006 and I owned it.  Saturday was not likewise!  Matt has some very good early season form and I did OK getting down to the water and on the first 4 mile climb out I was able to pull for a while and hold Matt's wheel the rest but I fell behind on the final two climbs; embarrassingly so in the final 2 miles.  There was tail wind so I was able to barely hold his wheel as he pulled at 30 mph down Pima to Dynamite and home.

Great ride but I definitely need work even for this early in the season.

Feeling inspired

I can't exactly explain it but I feel like I've turned a corner.  I finished my two week pass at LA Fitness and actually got in the water 4 times and felt pretty good.  I'm going to join up this weekend. 

I didn't exactly impress myself this morning by not getting out of bed and running before work.  I'm going to get 6 in after work though.  Tomorrow we're doing a big Bartlett Lake ride.  Should be 75 miles or so with some major hill work.  I'm actually really excited to do it.  It's been a while since I think I felt excited about a ride.

Dropped a few pounds.  I'm at 164 right now.  Cutting my lunch down to one sandwich and some fruit.  I really want to try and figure out how to do a salad at work.  Going to ride a couple times to work next week, run a few times and swim a few times.  I'm building slowly on the swim.  I've hit the weights pretty religiously this year.  I don't think it's showing in my times yet but I really do feel stronger in the water.

Don't know about that 1/2 IM in Tempe in April.  I don't know if I am ready for it.  We'll see.