My Aching Calves

Hate is a strong word,
but I really, really, really don't like you.
- Plain White T's

This song came on the radio within minutes of reaching the Rio Java Cafe, our designated run start today. With my propensity for replaying the last song I hear over and over in my head during a run, I changed the channel as fast as I could to blot that one out. To me that song has the lyrical depth of a third grade poem. When someone has to resort to using the same word three times in a row they apparently don't have much to say. The station I switched to was playing "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. I don't really care for that song either, but it was far less objectionable than the first one. Too bad the CD player in my car doesn't work any more.

The Cruisers were a small group today, only 7 of us. I ran for 3 miles with Cecil before he turned around. I was planning on 10, so finished the last 7 on my own. One week post marathon, I had no time goals. I started out slow, >10:00 miles and finished up around 8:30's for an average pace of 9:00 (90 minutes for 10 miles). By mile 2 my right calf was giving me the business. The left one caught up a couple of miles later. I've never experienced this kind of stiffness and tightness before. By mile 6 or so, my quads were complaining too. They were saying "Hey, we just ran a downhill marathon last week, what are you doing to us?". Luckily they didn't let me down.

So, if you've seen the new title of the blog you know that I'm off to Indiana next. When? Where? Why? you may ask. Well Indiana is a state right and they have a marathon there right? So of course I would eventually end up there. What follows is my attempt to explain the answers to the 5 W's of any good story.

Who: Me of course. And Joe from Run with Perseverance.

What: the 4th Annual Tecumseh Trail Marathon

Where: Bloomington, IN

When: December 2, 2006 just 8 weeks after St George. From the FAQ's on the website: "How difficult is it really? Hmm... Pretty difficult. Try it and find out!" Since this will be my first trail marathon I won't have a time goal. I'm just going to enjoy the run.

Why: Here's the long part. Why this race and why now? Way back in the fall of 2003 when I was training with Snail's Pace for my first marathon, Dr. John completed his 50th state. I hadn't even completed my first marathon yet, but I was enchanted with the idea of doing this myself. I spent hours that fall scouring the internet, especially marathonguide.com for races in every state. I started a list of the races I wanted to do. I first picked the states where I had relatives. Ohio would be Cleveland to visit my parents. I planned Hartford, CT to visit my in-laws. Now they live in PA so I've got Harrisburg on the list. In Florida I've planned Clearwater or Tampa and my parents will come down to visit my aunt there. Of course, Chicago and NYC are on the list as well. I got SEAFAIR in Washington this year as a birthday present.

Anyway back to the original story, during the fall of 2003, I came across an article about the inaugural Tecumseh Trail Marathon. I just sounded really fun and challenging, something different to do rather than a road race. It made it onto my list as my Indiana marathon of choice.

Back at the end of this July, I commented on Joe's blog after he had hiked up Pike's Peak with his son David, asking when he was going to run the marathon version. He replied it was a serious maybe and in preparation for it was considering a trail marathon in Indiana in the late fall. Another email confirmed that the marathon in question was indeed Tecumseh. Joe graciously offered to be my host in Indiana, so the plans started brewing. Joe was running the Portland marathon just a week before I would be running St George so we both had about the same amount of time to rest and prepare. While Joe was in Portland, I bought my airline tickets and mailed in my race entry and state #8 was officially on the schedule a week before #7 was on the books.

So, in December I'm off to Indiana to run what looks to be an unforgettable marathon along with Joe who I've come to admire and respect through the blogosphere. I'm looking forward to it. Now if I could just get my calves to catch up with my brain, I'll be good to go.