I just finished a thirteen-mile run with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group. It was cold and rainy, and my legs felt kind of dead, but I believe that's normal at this stage of the training. I think I'll be ready for the Columbus Marathon though—it’s only two weeks from tomorrow!

Also, Lance Armstrong is on the cover of the latest Runner’s World magazine. There’s an interesting interview with him about his preparation for the upcoming New York City Marathon. From the article it doesn’t sound like he’s doing many long runs, but I’ve heard that cyclists have a reputation for totally downplaying their training, so a lot of people think he’s actually training really hard. I guess we’ll find out when he runs the marathon.

Tags: marathon, marathons, Columbus Marathon, running, New York City Marathon, Lance Armstrong, Runner’s World, Runners World

The seasonal flavors of Clif Bar are now available. They are Spiced Pumpkin Pie, Caramel Apple Cobbler, and Iced Gingerbread. These happen to be my three favorite flavors. The best place to buy Clif Bars in Columbus is Trader Joe’s—you can get them for $.99 each. This is much cheaper than anywhere else in Columbus.

I always love going into Trader Joe’s because of the Hawaiian theme—it reminds me of my college days at Hawaii Loa College. I think it’s a travesty that the seasonal flavors of Clif Bar are only available a few months a year. They should be available year round! Someone should start a movement!

Tags: Clif Bar, Clif Bars, Trader Joe’s, Trader Joes, Hawaii Loa College, Hawaii

I finished my twenty-four miler with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group this morning. When I woke up at 5 AM, it was pouring down rain, but by 7 AM when we started, the rain had stopped, so all we had to contend with were some puddles. It was a solid twenty-four miles.

Any twenty-four-mile run involves a certain amount of suffering, but I seemed to suffer less today than on runs of comparable distance in the past. Hopefully, that’s a good sign. However, my stomach was giving me some problems this morning. I have to be more careful about what I eat. No more curry chicken until after the Columbus Marathon!

Tags: marathon, marathons, Columbus Marathon, running

I’m getting ready for my last big training run tomorrow with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group before the Columbus Marathon. Right now it’s raining, and according to the Weather Channel, it’s likely to be raining tomorrow morning as well when we run twenty-four miles. It looks like we’re going to get a little wet. I can live with a twenty-four-mile run in the rain tomorrow as long as it’s not raining on marathon day. Besides, as we say, “If it ain’t raining, it ain’t training!”

Also, I just saw this article on Lance Armstrong, who is planning on running the New York City Marathon on November 5th. It says that the longest run he's done so far has been thirteen miles. Better get working, Lance!

Tags: marathon, marathons, Columbus Marathon, running, New York City Marathon, Lance Armstrong

I recently picked up the book Nine Hills to Nambonkaha by Sarah Erdman from the bargain rack at Barnes & Noble. Erdman was a Peace Corps volunteer who spent two years in an African Village. It’s quite a departure from what I’ve been reading recently. You sure can find some good books really cheap on the bargain rack at Barnes & Noble if you look hard enough.

Tags: book, books, Nine Hills to Nambonkaha, Sarah Erdman, Peace Corps, Africa

I just finished a thirteen-mile run with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group, and everything went fine. I never saw so much fog coming off of Antrim Lake. Next week is the last really long training run—we’re scheduled to run twenty-four miles. After that, the taper begins.

In a taper, you gradually decrease your training so that your body is fresh and ready for maximum performance on marathon day. So if I can get through next week, then all the hard work will basically be over, and I’ll turn my attention to the Columbus Marathon on October 15th. Here’s hoping it goes well.

Tags: marathon, marathons, Columbus Marathon, running

The Terry Fox Run will be held in Canada this Sunday to commemorate the Marathon of Hope. The following is from Wikipedia:

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, CC (July 28, 1958 –June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. He became famous for his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, running with only one leg. He is considered one of Canada's greatest heroes of the 20th Century and is celebrated internationally every September as people participate in the Terry Fox Run, the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.

According to the Terry Fox Run website, the run has raised more than $400 million worldwide.

Tags: Terry Fox, Terry Fox Run, Marathon of Hope, cancer, cancer research

I spoke with Ivan Volodin, founder of One Page Studio, over the weekend, and he informed me that One Page Studio will soon have a new website. I'll be sure to post on this blog when it's ready, so check back often for updates!

Tags: One Page Studio, Microsoft Outlook, MS Outlook, Outlook, e-mail, email, e mail

I just finished my twenty-two miler with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group. Today was hard work—twenty-two miles is not chopped liver. Some of the miles were really fast miles. I know I was working hard, because right now I’m sore. I think this is the first time during this training cycle that I’ve been sore.

Another sign that I did some work today is that toward the end of the run, I could really start to feel it in my feet. It’s almost time to switch my shoes to the ones I’ll run in during the Columbus Marathon. Hopefully, new shoes combined with some Bee Venom Cream from Dancing Bee Acres will get me through on race day.

Tags: marathon, marathons, Columbus Marathon, running, Bee Venom, Bee Venom Cream, Dancing Bee Acres

Tomorrow I’ll run twenty-two miles with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group. It will be a little warmer than last week. According to the Weather Channel, the temperature will be about sixty-one degrees Fahrenheit at the start and about seventy degrees by the time we finish. That’s not ideal, but it is bearable. Our route will be a little bit different tomorrow—we’ll be starting out at the Park of Roses.

Also, I picked up the book Ugly Americans by Ben Mezrich from the Barnes & Noble bargain rack. My last two books have been American Sucker and Ugly Americans. Maybe I should read a good story about Americans next—we’re not all bad.

Tags: marathon, marathons, running, Park of Roses, book, books, Ugly Americans, Ben Mezrich, American Sucker

Click here to check out the trailer for the movie Land of the Gods. Somebody from the Runner's World marathon forum contacted the production company, and they replied, "We are currently editing Land of the Gods and are aiming for a premiere in the early part of next year." I sure hope it's widely released so I'll be able to see it.

Tags: Land of the Gods, marathon, marathons, running

I just finished an easy twelve-mile run with the Premier Sports Marathoner in Training (MIT) group. Not only was it a fall-back week, but it was also about twenty degrees cooler than the last two weeks, so the run seemed like a walk in the park. However, next week I'm scheduled for twenty-two miles, so the break won't last long.

At least the warm weather is behind us, I think. It's funny, because before I started running marathons, my favorite season of the year was definitely summer. But now, it's such a relief when the weather cools off. Believe it or not, the Columbus Marathon is only six weeks from tomorrow! I'm sure it will be a fun day.

Tags: marathon, marathons, Columbus Marathon, running