Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Onward to Number Sixteen

I ran 5 miles today and I'll run 5 more on Thursday. I ran tonight on one of my very first and oldest routes. With the time change, Bonelli is off limits for a few months so I was back on the streets again. I went over to Via Verde and ran the streets on what used to be my fave 3 miler on the dirt before the city paved it over (anybody hearing Joni Mitchell in their head?).

The two 5 milers in the middle of the week is reminiscent of the week just before the IMT Des Moines Marathon. I'm repeating that week because, you guessed it, I'm running another marathon this weekend. Three weeks since Des Moines and I'm going to toe the line at another starting line and work my way to the finish.

Before Des Moines I explained that I was running it in part because I wasn't going to be able to run the Harrisburg (PA) Marathon, because my wife said so (just kidding). So I signed up for Des Moines with her blessing. Before I'd even gotten to Des Moines, she surprised me with Harrisburg as a 25th Anniversary present. Sweet, huh.

I've had my eye on Harrisburg for several years now for a couple of reasons. Of course there are the obvious ones of it being in a state I hadn't run yet, but there are other even better reasons.

My in-laws live in Anneville, PA not too far from Harrisburg, so the marathon gives us an excuse to visit them and offers us a really affordable room rate. Back in 2005, the marathon was run on November 13, my wife's birthday. I always thought it would be fun to celebrate it in PA with her Dad and step-mom. Plus, I really like the idea of killing two birds with one stone. This year the race is almost a week before her birthday but we will still have a good time with her family.

I have no expectations for a finishing time, except to actually finish. There really wasn't much time between PA and IA to recover and train properly. The best I can hope for is that everything I did leading up to Missouri and then Iowa will carry me through PA. With the eating season starting last Friday, my diet has been out of control with sugar and flour. And boy could I tell the difference on tonight's easy 5 miler. I vowed on Sunday to stay away from the stuff this week, but so far the first two days of the week I've failed miserably. Hopefully I can "dry out" before Sunday.

5 comments:

Wes said...

Yea, that's pretty cool. The wife is full of (good, no very good) surprises! You have fun and enjoy the trip!

Backofpack said...

What a great surprise for you! Enjoy yourself on both the run and the visit!

Jean said...

Awesome! You are truly dedicated, Darrell! Good luck to you, Harrisburg. I hope it goes well, and that you have a lot of fun.

All the best!

Sarah said...

Good luck! Sounds like a great way to polish off another state. I like your wife's style. : )

Joe said...

You Maniac, you!!! Very cool. I've been sick, I'm late to get this announcement. So, if you get this, best of luck on Sunday!

Bummer there is no "text alerts" like in Des Moines to interrupt me at important moments! Will check back on Sunday afternoon!!