"Dream, Believe, Succeed"

"Dream, Believe, Succeed"...those are the words I read on Chris McCormack's (Macca) blog this morning.  Three simple words that really resonate with where I am in my life right now.  They are words that I need to repeat every morning when I wake up and every night before I fall asleep.  They are words that I need to repeat to my daughters, so they know that anything is possible.  They are words to live by and words that will not only help me in my journe to Ironman, but also my journey through this life.

The past few days have been exhausting, that is the only word that I can think to accurately sum up Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  EXHAUSTING!  Friday was supposed to be a swim-only day because I was just feeling tired from the days leading up to it (did a five mile, very hilly run on Thursday).  I hadn't gotten more than five hours of sleep in any of the two nights prior and I just wanted to take it somewhat easy.  I guess I got my wish of taking it easy...I slept through my alarm and didn't get out of bed until 5:45AM.  DAMN!  Looks like the swim was off.  I think that was my bodies way of telling me to take a day off and relax, which is pretty much what I did.

Saturday was a whole different story.  I awoke to find that the much talked about snow storm was in full effect and it was looking like I was going to be doing a bit of snow shoveling.  Around 11:00AM, I went outside and spend about an hour shoveling our driveway, front walk and back deck.  About a half-hour into the shoveling, my back was already starting to get sore.  45 minutes and my shoulders were aching.  When I was finally done, all I wanted to do was eat some lunch and lay down.  What happened instead was my daughters wanted to come out and play in the snow.  So out they came and for the next hour we ran around, made snow angels, build an igloo/tunnel and just had fun. (pictures will be posted later)

I wish that it could have all been fun and games for the entire day, but around 3:30PM I knew that I had to get a long run in since I have a half-marathon to run next Sunday.  So I threw on my trail running shoes and my cold weather running gear and headed out for a 10 mile run in the snow.  It was slow going because of my lack of solid traction; I felt like for every four steps forward I was only going maybe two or three, my feet slipping in the snow.  I figured that this ten mile run would be like running 13 based on my effort....at least that is how I justified my slow pace.  I ran from my house into the Borough of Doylestown, a route that allowed me to run on streets that didn't have a lot of traffic on them. 

The Good Deed - Once in town, I spotted a station wagon that was struggling to make it up a bit of a hill and was in jeopardy of gettign stuck in the middle of an intersection.  I hustled over to it and tried pushing it, but nothing doing.  Then another guy hopped out of his car and offered to help me push this strangers car.  A couple of heavy-ho's and off the station wagon went.  That little act put the biggest smile on my face.  That is all I have to say about that.

The rest of the run was slow going.  My legs were sore, joints were aching, and my mind was starting to get filled with doubt.  I just wanted to get home and take a hot shower.  I ended up finishing up my 10 mile run in 1:28 (8:48/mile), not horrible considering the conditions.  With some better traction under foot, I think that pace is closer to 8:00/mile.

Sunday was supposed to be a 5.3 mile race down in Tyler, but it was cancelled.  Sunday was supposed to include a 1,500M swim, but I was tired.  Sunday was supposed to be a free-for-all-eat-fest, and unfortunately it was.  Let me just say that when you make a full plate of nachos, a ton of homemade french fries, and a platter of pigs-in-a-blanket, it is best to do so when surrounded by a bunch of burly guys who will eat their share.  What you shouldn't do is make all of the above food and then expected your tiny wife and two young daughters to eat their share, because what ends up happening is that I ate my share plus their share and still fell as though my body is breaking down all of the fat and pasting it to the walls of my abdomen.  Too much food and not enough people.

As for today, I was good.  I woke up at 4:50AM and laid there until my alarm went off at 5:00AM.  I did my morning things, go the the gym and was in the pool just before 6:00AM.  It was pretty empty, good for me!.  I banged out 1,500M and even though I was sore as hell, I was happy with my effort. 

That leaves me where I am now, procrastinating, knowing that I have a ton of work to do today, but not wanting to get started.  I will now stop abruptly and get to it.  Goodbye!

Afternoon Update:  Lunchtime run, 4.58 miles in 35:43 (7:48/mile), 160 BPM.  I ran the first two miles with Chris and despite my desire to run at an easy pace (~8:15/mile would have been good), we averaged 7:50/mile.  He continued on and did a 6.5 mile run, while I turned and headed back to the office.  I maintained that same pace for the rest of my run, with the exception being the last .58 miles where I ran at 7:28 pace.  I felt really good and didn't feel like I was killing myself.  This coming Sunday should be interesting with the half-marathon at Tyler.  It is going to be tough, but I am nearly ready.