So last week I was sick. Bad sick. I wasn't able to do anything Monday through Monday.

Tuesday I was able to get a workout in at the gym. There was no doubt that it had been a while; getting through my typical set of bench reps was anything but easy and it was all I could do to knock out 2 miles on the treadmill.

Last night I left for a river jog just as my neighbor did. We had never talked prior to this, so it was nice to find out more about who I've been living next to for the past 9 months. She was only doing a couple of miles, so I did the same. This was the first time I've had a running partner and was not going to ignore the opportunity.

Tonight I did a hard 4 miles. Even though I'm still not back up to 100% from last week, I did what I could to get in decent speed. I am trying to give special attention to the big hill near my house and not just use it to walk up as a break. I feel that its important too remember Rome is not Oklahoma, and I need to get used to a hill or two. As my long weekend runs get shorter, I will probably focus more and more on jogging up hill.

It's been so long since my last post, I had nearly forgotten the web address. Sorry about that. Lots of work, after hours work networking events, work outs and everything else workish. I'm a busy man these days.

This marathon business is starting to get real. I occasionally ignore Taylor's teachings and find myself finding out things the hard way. Sunday was no exception. I was to do another record setting run, 15 miles. Mr. Fox suggested I grab a few Gu electrolyte/energy packets. My previous run had not been bad, so I assumed I could pull this one off w/o anything more than a handful of almonds and a water fountain every few miles.

Not the case.

My first 5 mile lap went fine, everything was normal. By my second lap I was starting to feel a bit queezy despite having finished all of my almond protein goodness. I probably should have called it a night, but decided to tuff it out and finish. The sun had set, the temperature had dropped and the wind was gusting nearly 30mph. With two miles to go, it was all I could do to take each step. My stomach felt as though it had turned inside out and my body was out of calories. Tunnel vision was starting to set in as I stepped onto my porch. All I could think about was how bad I felt and how bad I needed to eat. I jumped in my car and ran to the sketchy convenience store just down the street and grabbed a Gatorade.

After a warm shower I cuddled up in bed and took a series of power naps, shivering and sweating as if I had the flu. After some more eating, I was fine in time for the super bowl.

So then, Monday i get the idea to start the "master cleanse". Seemed like the last chance I could do something like that before the big run, and with promises of weight loss and extra energy it made sense at the time. I got through day 1 with nothing more than lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. I was not so lucky with day 2. By noon my calves were cramping bad enough that I could hardly walk, i was pale and my eyes were bloodshot. I decided taylor was again right and broke down to eat a much needed lunch.

Despite the beautiful weather, i didn't get a run in until Friday. I felt good, and did a 5 mile loop. I took Saturday off so that I would be ready for my long run Sunday.

The weather was great, 75 and mostly cloudy. I loitered around the local running shop waiting for them to open, bought some Gu and got ready to get my run on. I also took a few ibuprofen this time to try and dull the hurt. The combination worked great and I felt strong for most of the run even with the 3 extra miles I was putting on.

Again, with a handful of miles left I became quite hungry. All I could think about was what I was going to eat when I got back. I cant complain though, given last weeks trouble. My leg muscles hurt like crazy, but very little joint pain this time.

Saturday I tried on a medium shirt and it fit for the first time in 10-15 years.

Feels good.