All the cool kids are doing it

Funds collected to date: $1545.40 (58%)
Amount needed to reach pledge: $1,074.60
Long run: 10 miles (total weekly mileage = 26)
Weeks to Go: 15

And then...NY became an inferno.

The tail end of last week did two very important things for me. The first is that it showed me that if I can run 10 miles on the surface of the sun, then I can run 26 miles in November. Or something like that.

Second, it demonstrated that I am TOTALLY BALLER. Seriously, while I was pounding out mileage at 7:30 am on a Saturday with the heat index already nearly 100, I thought to myself "Good lord! Who ARE you!?"

Now that my running has reached the double-digits for my long-runs, I am in a whole different arena. 10 milers were my longest "long-runs" in preparation for the Half-Marathons I've completed the last couple of years. I've done this type of things before...but from here on out, I'm in new territory. I'm running a 12 next weekend, but there will be cheering crowds or yellow tape or tables full of stale bagels waiting for me at the end.

I'm considering making a series of silver medals for myself to collect at the end of my training runs just to provide some sort of closure or climax to the running experience. Why silver instead of gold? Because I have humility and class.

This new phase of training does bring with it some downsides that while had been expected, I had not fully grasped until now. First, the time factor. If I want to run long distances in the summer, this must happen as early as possible to avoid discomfort, hospitalization, and second-degree burning of my freakishly white skin. My Team For Kids training group meets at 7am on Saturdays...meaning I am up at 5:45ish...meaning I have to go to bed by 10pm. Woo. Party animal. You know you're a cool kid when you're not only alone in your apartment on a Friday, but you're also not even up late enough to catch Letterman before you pass out.

The run itself on Saturdays from here on out will take me 2+ hours if you consider that I'm about a 10 minute mile pace for these long, long runs. Include transportation time, warm-up, and stretching, and now you're really nearer to 3-4 hours.

I made the dangerous misstep this weekend of not resting afterwards. Big mistake, because out at dinner at 8 pm that night -- as my friend Jackie can attest -- I looked like this:

Lesson learned. I will now enhance my cool factor by scheduling naptime pre-school style in subsequent weeks. I will miss looking like a kick-ass Japanese baby, but it's a risk I'll have to take.


P.S. Thanks to Sam for sending me this affirmatory link on Facebook today. Hooray beer!