I haven’t blogged since Pat’s Run and I am getting all kinds of grief about it, but really after Pat’s Run everything seems to take a nose dive for me. Summer running in Phoenix is the pits. I am thirsty and tired. My heart-rate is always elevated. I can’t seem to go as far or as fast and I get discouraged.
To try to combat this annual feeling – I signed up for the first St. Louis Rock ‘n Roll Marathon – debuting on October 23rd, 2011. This means my training starts mid-June and I am forced to get through the long, tough, exhausting training in 100-115 degree temps with limited humidity. So, answer me this – at 38 years of age – am I insane?
My good friends, Ron and Cat, have agreed to train for this marathon, as well. In fact, we all signed up so we wouldn’t fail each other. Cat’s in Boca Raton, Florida – Ron and I are here, in Phoenix. None of us are going to have it easy with the summer heat and sometimes I think Cat may have it the worst.
But, we will endure.
As an aside – on July 20th, Ben Davis (who I only know as a result of his amazing blog BenDoesLife) is coming to Phoenix on his national Do Life! Tour, encouraging people to take control of their lives and do something healthy: walk, run, whatever! I am super excited to meet him. I feel like he’s a part of my life, now – almost like an absent brother. He doesn’t really know it, but he encourages me to run, even on days when my 9:30 pace is going to be a 10:15 pace – even on mornings when I think its too hot to run. Ben is like a little grasshopper on my shoulder saying “don’t be such a tool, Mer, get yer butt out there and do it!”
So, I am dedicating this blog to Ben Davis. The man who gets many of us out of bed in the mornings to lace up our sneakers and remind us that we’re going to feel a lot better once we’ve accomplished another 4, 5, or 10+ mile run!
