The 500-Mile Club

I have 35-some more miles to run before the end of the year to join the 500-Mile Club for 2006. I have created a running schedule, down to the distances I run on certain days. I have a plan, and I have a goal, and come New Year's Eve I will reflect nostalgically on the past year and my accomplishments.

The goal list for 2007 is already underway. We were in Boston and Memphis over the past week, and Ted has his own goal for 2007---we're doing a Marathon.

He saw a show on cable one night...a documentary on the rehabilitation of drug addicts. The drug addicts walked into rehab off the streets. Part of their rehab program included training for an upcoming marathon. In eight months. One of the stats dropped during the show was that 1% of the population (or was it under 1%? I don't remember) completes a marathon, and that fact, combined with the former drug addicts training for and completing a marathon, gave Ted the motivation he needed. On one hand, he wants to be in that small percentage and say he completed the race. The second factor is that if the former drug addicts can do the race, he has absolutely no reason in the world not to be able to do that as well.

So our race schedule for next year includes the Broad Street Run and one of the marathons--either Philly or Memphis. I told Ted he's on my turf now. I'll do speed training with him (I do want to get faster, but can't motivate myself to do speedwork, as you may have picked up earlier), but he has to listen to me when it comes to the distance training. I can do that, and I've learned how to through trial-and-error.

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope it isn't too stressful--although I remember it being much more enjoyable growing up, when I wasn't responsible for presents, for decorating, or any of that, where I walked into a room, picked up an ornament, put it on the tree, watched the cartoons, sang the songs, ate the cookies, and the morning of the 25th, there were presents under the tree and the hardest part for my brother and I throughout that season occurred between the hours of 5:00 am and 8:30 am on Christmas Morning and I couldn't understand for the life of me how my parents could possibly sleep past sunrise.