Wednesday, February 08, 2006

go, dog. go!

Sal talked me into signing up for this marathon in Madison on May 28th. My original plan was to have a special T-shirt made for it, that on the front said "Where's Sal?", perhaps with a photo, and on the back said, "If you can read this, either (a) you're not Sal or (b) the race has just started." Since then, Sal has been reading running books and training religiously, while I have been writing short short fiction and stewing about health policy. So now, I've reverted back to the same official goals I had back for the half marathon I did in November: I would like to finish it without either (a) having to stop or (b) losing control of any of my bodily functions. (And, in case there is any ambiguity, if I fail at [b], I will also immediately and willfully fail at [a].) After using the winter as an excuse for far too long, I've run my standard (6-mile) loop three times this week, and my basic proximate goal between now and then end of March is to get to the point in which running that was about as easy as it was for me this past fall when I was running regularly and feeling asymptotically immortal.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the mad marathon is beautiful! but what's this concern about controlling bodily functions? ceding control can be liberating, albeit messy. of course, such incidents are rare outside the sub-2:30 crowd. plus, the "crowds" are so manageable in madison that the public/private distinction breaks down altogether.

as for the race, my personal wheels fall off in the arboretum (mile 22-23?). also, beware the annoying little staircase over west washington avenue. it offends both sensibilities and abductor muscles late in the race, when one is clearly not in the mood. aside from that, smooth sailing. see you at the after party...

sal said...

I guess some things do change! This year (2007) I'm the one being talked into running a 1/2 marathon - thanks! Anyhow, let's hope my legs recover in time to ride 545 miles that following week! ;-)