Saturday was the Retro Run and true to tradition it rained about an hour before just in time to turn this annual run/street party into a steam bath. Not sure I've ever seen as many good runners walking during the late stages as I did Saturday. So you can just guess how many 'newbies' were struggling, just to finish. On the other hand a bunch of runners had an 'Aha'! moment and said to themselves, "Self, it's hot so I'm gonna start nice and easy and get into a groove." That includes yours truly. That night I was doing my Gretchen Wilson imitation, I was just there for the party. Had a good run, had fun, waved, enjoyed myself and still sweated like a farmer on plow day. A bunch of terrific costumes, but not all were 'retro', I saw a running Rubik's Cube, a lady with a boom box and Rainbow Brite. Shilonqua's "Super Fly' girlfriend complete with a real 'Fro and one of Charlie's Angels. One guy (yep, guy!) ran in a females flowered 1 piece swim suit and bathing cap! Okay, so now instead of the Retro Run, it was a drag race. This mornings run was pretty nice, the sunrise was magnificent and it stayed reasonably comfortable until after I finished running (8:30 ish), so not bad at all. I spent yesterday at UAB giving talks to a group of Type II diabetic people in a study. It seems they sometimes lack motivation to continue (or to start) their exercise program. Like Scooby Doo says, "Ruh?!?". "Sir/Ma'am (actually 4 times as many women as men in there!!), you need to exercise >30 minutes a day or you're going to die......soon!" That would motivate ME, I'm jus sayin'......So we talked about TANGIBLE goals (this program encourages 200 minutes a week of exercise/movement) and having an 'Action Plan' to not only achieve 200 minutes but to exceed 200 minutes a week. It was an interesting experience and the program is quite successful...until Dan here set 'em back yesterday. It wasn't one of my prepared speeches, I spoke a lot off the cuff pointing to the benefit of having a 'real' goal (specifically walking a 5K), and then working towards that goal. Focusing on the walk (run) each day, not tomorrow, not next week, but TODAY'S effort. If they do that, the 5K's not so intimidating, and when it does come into focus it won't seem insurmountable. It'll be just another walk, except that it'll have SUCCESS written all over the finish line (figuratively speaking). And my suggestion to them if/when they had doubts was simple....2 questions: Why not? Why not me? Some one says you can't do something think, why not? Why not me? Heck! Go get 'em Tiger! (Not Tiger Woods, that's what got him IN trouble was going to 'get' em.....Tiger in 'general'). Think about that when you doubt if you can achieve anything, a new distance, a new PR, even something at work....Why not? Why not ME? Why not, indeed!!!!

Nothing like the rockin' tunes of Buster Poindexter to 'heat' things up! Yesterday rode 31 miles a.m. with NB as she prepares for her triathlon, had a ball! Had a nice salad for lunch since I was planning on the Retro Run (sounds like 'Astro' on the Jetsons, doesn't it? "Ret - ro Run...Ro Reorge....) and I didn't want to feel 'full' or heavy especially in the heat. Like I said, I don't mind the heat; I much prefer it to cold, but that doesn't mean I want to go stupid town by eating a burger and fries for lunch before I go run. THAT'S a recipe for disaster and I don't mean bad gas, that's 'throw up' medicine right there. 'Blap' is not how I want to be remembered. It was fun as always, good crowd, hot, lots of people haul ass that first mile and crawl the last 2 (it's a 5K), but if you start 'under control' you'll do well...or as well as you can in the heat. I wasn't trying to run hard or fast, just consistent especially after that ride and I met my goals. What was cool is that 2 of my 'graduates' Randy and Abby were both getting stronger and stronger and though they weren't 'racing' either, if it had been a 4 mile run they would have passed me with ease! Randy had run 13 or so that morning, too. Again, racing and running well is not always about speed (refer to Tortoise and the Hare) - Randy and Abby started wisely and finished strong! I don't know how many people I passed in the last mile (a bunch) but I'd be willing to bet they passed even more. When running 'hard' or racing try to plan your run so that your pace is consistent, not too fast (especially in the beginning...I repeat: ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING) and of course not too slow, but save enough so that you can pick it up the last mile and turn on the afterburners for the last 200 meters or so. The last mile (in 5K's and 10K's) is, for the most part, where PR's are set - the last 3 in Half Marathons and the last 5 'ish' in marathons for those who've run several. The heat was definitely a factor and again starting under control allows you to control your temperature whereas too fast, will cause that mercury to skyrocket in your thermo meter! We're having another Sunday afternoon workout at MBHS track and I'm saving my energy for that - today is gonna be a blast. I've designed a challenging, fun, Kick A workout (I think) that'll let your muscles know they've been used while burning up a bunch of calories. Running form focused with intense cardio and muscle challenge for the whole body...man I can't wait! The ab workout alone is going to create an Instant 6 Pack, while the other stuff is going to have 'em loose, strong, and running like track stars! I must admit, I have to do most of it with them, too much fun at the Ret - Ro Run post party (do the words 'free' and 'beer' really belong together for the good of mankind?) so to paraphrase Hugo Peabody in 'Bye Bye 'Birdie'..."I got a lot of sweatin to dooooo". That's all today from the Equatorial Alabama.....

SWEET! I decided yesterday that I would do anything that needed to be done - and by 'needed' I meant life or death - today by noon and after that I was on mini-vacation. I'm a bachelor tonight (early cocktail hour...hmmmm?) since M is going to her college roommates 50th birthday party and I'm not (long story and not all the interesting - silly Tennessee Volunteers) so I've proclaimed the rest of the day to be National Dan Day! So far it's been pretty good; ran 4 miles this morning with one of my 'padawans'. She is great, but man-o-man is she negative! I mean this girl (lady) has all the ability in the world but she makes Eeyore look like a stand up comedian! It's just that she's had these doubts for so long that I'm having to go "Earnest Angely' on her..."Out devil, OUT!" Doesn't that happen to so many of us? We ran mid-morning and I was so proud of me (working on my negativity too) for reminding myself, "just run" and it not only wasn't 'bad', it was good! So we talked attitude, how it's a habit and if you focus on the positive and MAKE yourself find it then eventually it will become second nature. i.e. a habit! Why are some of us so negative? Why do we doubt ourselves so deeply? Sometimes success isn't enough, we doubt our triumphs, start to belittle them then stare down our next goal. The solution is simple, however putting the solution in practice is really difficult. Negativity is a habit, pure and simple and to change the negativity you have to change your way of thinking. If you go for a run and you continue to repeat to yourself, "this is hard." It will be, and it will get harder! When you feel those doubts creeping in, change your line of thinking; don't just say, "It's easy!" Re-direct your thoughts - look at something and think about it (a building - hmm, who's in there, what kind of view do they have, will they see me if I stop and moon them? Or a creek, or cars...whatever!), or remind yourself to 'run tall' or 'quick step, quick step' or sing '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall' (2 rules: not out loud and stop at 90). Redirect your thoughts 2 or 3 times and your run is almost over. Then congratulate yourself on your run; no matter how it was: short, far, slow, fast, hot, cold...YOU DID IT! Take pride in the moment. Slowly, day by day, then week by week it will become habit. In Alabama everyone is football crazy and few people are neutral - love or hate Alabama and Nick Saban, he's got it right. He talks about his 'process' - do the little things right in practice (running) and in life and the big things (games/races/long runs/PR's/goals/meeting cute guys or sexy momma's/career) will take care of itself. I guarantee you in one way or another Gene Chizik (and the other coaches) say the same thing in one fashion or another. You do the little things (re-direct your thoughts, congratulate yourself, compliment yourself, DO YOUR RUNS) and you'll find your attitude improving. One last thing, if the people you hang around bring you down, look around for some new playmates - don't be like the frog in the pot. Frog's in a pot on the stove and the heat is gradually increased until the water is boiling. Frog won't jump out, he'll stay until, well, until he 'stews'. You stay with negative people and you'll stay negative. You can't change others, only yourself. Find some fun people who laugh, that value you for YOU, and are proud of what you are doing. They are easy to find and they are out there. Negativity breeds negativity...break the cycle. Believe in yourself and SAY so! Find others that believe in you and start to believe in them...then have a 'Danny' Day (or 'Whoever You Are' Day). It's fun! I am sooo looking forward to the rest of the day and night! Anyone know where I can find some Egyptian belly dancers to feed me bon-bons?

with the caveat that I get to know what I know now; otherwise I'll be just as dumb as I was the first time around, and you can leave current brain power out of it, thank you very much! I met 2 of my young 'padawans' early this morning, before Runner's Boot Camp and ran the course of the Retro Run. These 2 ladies are really excited about their progress, as I am I. When ever possible I try to get my 'peeps' to run a course to familiarize themselves with it so they can concentrate on having fun. I was thinking as we ran how I didn't used to think a whole lot about the heat, or the cold, or the elements (except lightning), I just went and ran. Did my schedule call for a 4 miler or 7 miler, okay...go run! Now I think I think too much...I believe it has a lot to do with my childhood; my parents moved a lot when I was a child, but I always found them. (Rodney Dangerfield...I miss him). Seriously I think I'm going to try to revert to my old simple self and just go run. Doesn't mean I won't look at the temperature to know how to dress, but once I know, I'll just go! It takes me a while to catch on; I was in the gym on Highland putting someone through their 'paces' the other day and one of my graduates ran by. She's had open heart surgery, is on the 'north side' of 50 and was out running kind of late in the morning. It dawned on me, I used to be like that! (excluding the open heart surgery) - It was pretty cool to be inspired by one of my own, so to speak. When I see Trudi I have to give her big ups! I was out walking with one of my other ladies (she's building up to a run) one afternoon and saw the Indomitable Nicole out doing intervals - 5:00 in the afternoon! Hot? Yeah, but it's what she planned to do and she was doing it. That's just the way it was. My kids are showing me the way! The wheels started turning and I realized it was just 'me'. It's basically the same weather in Alabama every summer...hot or hotter with a dash of humidity tossed in. Guess what? It'll be cold again this winter...whaddaya gonna do? Me, I'm gonna fuggedaboudit! I'm gonna just go run, and let my fat cells cry or as David B put it his fat cells were having "an emotional breakdown of epic proportion today!" As Mark Twain said, "Why does everyone complain about the weather, you can't do anything about it." So true. It'll be hard, bad habits are harder to break than good habits are to start, but start I will. The bad habit is whining/complaining about the weather - the good habit will be - just run. The weather will be what it will be and I'll run what I need to run. On the GREAT days I'll shout Hallelujah! The rest of the days I'll just run and be glad I can. Back to a simpler 'Dan'; ever notice how no one says, "Don't touch that dial!" No more dials, (radio, television, telephones all had 'dials'), well no more of that. I'll do what you have to do, quietly...no fuss. It'll be like brushing my teeth, I won't think about it, I'll just do it - same with running. Time to run 'young' again.......

The last 2 entries for The Run University Running Journal are in, I've sent the pictures that I have (are there ever enough?)...and we're going to press! I know 'printed' books and journals are dinosaurs, but I just believe a runner's diary works better in hard copy than on line. I refer to my old ones all the time. Oh well, maybe I AM a dinosaur (let's see brains the size of walnuts, laying eggs, big...well, never mind); back to the picture thing. I swear starting Labor Day when my Fall groups ramp up I'm going to spend more time taking pictures of the groups and the people I coach and run with...action photo's, just finished photo's, post coffee or beer photo's. These are the people, aside from family that mean the most to me. I've seen them grow, sweat, and work. We've covered miles together and solved most of the worlds problems. I WANT them in my book. Well, the good thing about the 'journal' is that if it's successful then there'll be another one next year and I can be sure that they are in that one. Very few things in this life are as important to me as a loyal friend and there's too damn few real people like that, sadly. So I treasure the ones I have...and no I probably haven't told them though I 'think' most everyone knows where they stand with me...good, bad or indifferent (for better or worse). I have to be careful though on the pics and not move into the creepy category but I guess that would only happen if I suggested a photo shoot in my upstairs studio (hmmm, now that I think of it....). Plus the DVD of C210K is only weeks away, so it won't be free on the web much longer. I'm thinking 10 years is fair enough for me to give it away. It's gonna be interesting how the filming goes down...stay tuned! My running has really suffered over the last 4 days or so, but I'm ramping up again starting tomorrow (it's gonna huuurrtttt!). Maybe I'll be back in the groove quickly; that 14 of Sunday a week ago seems like a year ago now. Newsflash - my orthopedist has changed his mind on surgery for my knee and wants to treat it differently...okay 1) I treat all knees the same, I can't show favoritism. 2) and seriously, I disagree with him so it's off for a 2nd opinion (and exactly when DID you graduate from medical school MR. Haralson. So we'll see...boy, for once I hope I'm wrong! Well Huntsville is 20 weeks away and we're having August weather in July...okay, we're having August weather from Borneo here in July. Like it or not, the race is 20 weeks away and they won't shorten it for those who didn't run because "it's too hottt." Sorry, I know I'm all over the place today - no one theme and I'm playing catch up. Okay Alley Oop here signing off hoping for a better organized, more thoughtful, insightful blog attempt tomorrow or the next day.

Putting the 'finishing' touches on the Run University Training Journal - yes it's going to be an old fashioned 'book' with select excerpts from the Book of Dan and pages (dated) to enter info about your daily run. I know it seems dinosaur 'ish' in this computer age, but so what? If your computer crashes all that stuff is gone! Plus it's easier for ME to look back in a journal to see what I did, flip through pages if I need to look around that date or check on mileage....anyway, hopefully it'll be out around Labor Day - We are in week 1 (day 2 is tomorrow) of Runner's Boot Camp and I actually am enjoying (for lack of a better phrase) a back log of coaching (i.e. waiting list). I keep reminding myself in this heat/humidity how MUCH I hated the cold. It helps me while I'm sweating like a horse pulling a wagon out there. If sweat is "fat cells crying" then my fat cells are just watched a double feature of 'Old Yeller' and 'Love Story'....something like 'Marley and Me' and 'Message in a Bottle' for you youngsters, only you need twice as many tissues for 'Old Yeller'....saw it when I was like 5 and I'm scarred for LIFE! Fall schedule is taking shape and that means my training schedule better START taking shape! It's looking like Omaha Marathon in September, Flying Monkey in November, Thunder Road in December and TARGET ONE - Houston Marathon in January. All the others will just be long training runs - Houston the goal is <3:40. I like for each run to have a purpose, Omaha will just be for the distance, get my legs under me and be prepared to run 26.2 miles, get some strength and get my body used to marathon distance 'fuel' wise. Flying Monkey on one hand will be for strength, on the other hand...survival. That is one tough course....yowza! It's in Nashville at Percy Warner Park - if you're familiar then you know...if you're not...well if ever there was a case that ignorance is bliss.....this is it! It is beautiful though; what I remember through the tears. Charlotte will be a negative split/specific training run for Houston. The first half I'll plan to run in 'X' with the 2nd half faster. It'll be a measure of fitness and training. If all goes well, great! If not, I've got 6 weeks to get the gremlins out of the system. Now the's time! Make a plan for the Fall and use it to get you on track...Montgomery Half in October, Vulcan Run in November - there's stuff to look toward. Don't press your pace right now, just run. Hot or not, each run fast or slow build strength - muscular and aerobically. Like the yankee general, Gen. McDowall said to his troops as the retreated during the Battle of Bull Run....."Keep running!"

My daughter HATES it when I quote Eminem (or Snoop Dog, or Flava Fav etc), but I can't help it if I'm a 'happenin' guy, if I'm the shizzle. Took off to the Baltimore/D.C. Secret Service Academy graduation, yep, my oldest son is now Special Agent Haralson - I don't usually 'blog' on trips or before I go just in case there's some nefarious plot afoot to break in our house and steal our 8 track tapes. Anyway, it was cool and sad because he's been assigned to Houston and they went from Baltimore to Houston...*sniff*, that's okay, if all goes well M, the Indomitable, and I will go to Houston for the marathon (it's a lottery now...oy!) and then we'll hang a few extra days. Oh yeah, the Astro's are there too....yay! We saw the National's play and lucked into watching Strasburg pitch and he's as good as advertised. He gave a lead off home run then settled down and mowed 'em down. 2/3 of his pitches were strikes...fun game average stadium (for a new one). I didn't love the 'sight lines', and we had good seats. If people one section over and a few rows down stand, you're blocked. Oh well, still, you can't beat fun at the old ball park! Oh yeah, they had some pretty tasty brews up there! Love Baltimore...HATE their drivers! Wow! They'll cut you off in a flash....let's see if I can squeeze between these 2 cars doing 80.....yep! Just enough room! They made our local idiots look like AAA school graduates! Slow in the left lane, oh you're gonna be 'cut' fo sho! We were in a suburb really, so the running was like being anywhere else - so when we returned late Saturday early to bed it was for 15 this a.m. The funny thing is as hot as it is down here, they were having a heat wave so it was HOTTER up there. This morning was a balmy 75 at the start, and I did not have a dry stitch after the first 5. Ahh, but it was good to be back in the saddle, running with my favorite person (the divine Miss (Mrs.) M...for Micki) as well as Al and Kenny...are we the only 2 that call him 'Kenny'....Kenneth sounds so, so....pretentious. He's a lot of things but pretentious he ain't ! This blog is gonna take a serious turn today so 2 things....1) soon to come....the DUMBEST thing the local TNT chapter could have done; and I don't know the particulars - but it's still dumb - and 2: I write about this a lot, a LOT and every time it rears its head I get sad and try to make myself better. We were in Orange Beach last weekend and saw in the paper about a lady who drowned in the gulf going in after a 3 year old (not hers). Man, I thought, what a tragedy - 1) how did the 3 year old...you know...and 2) how sad about the lady. It turns out she's the ex-wife of a good friend and running buddy of mine...she left behind 3 daughters all at or near adolescence. He was on good terms with her (a rarity) and has been having to re-arrange his life to take his daughters in. He doesn't mind, in fact he'd love it if it were any other circumstance.....People - when you run miles with someone you can't help but get close; you talk about anything and everything and a lot of times nothing. Often times after 10 miles or so the silence is still a method of communicating because you're friends! I'm reminded of the story of Laurel and Hardy...I love their comedy. Most people are WAY too young to know them, but what a great comedy team. They made dozens of movies and shorts, they were the model for Abbott and Costello as well as the 3 Stooges (I'm smiling just thinking of these guys). Oliver Hardy was the big one and Stan Laurel was the smaller of the 2 and near the 'end', Oliver had a stroke, was bedridden and pretty much incommunicado. Every day Stan, despite his own declining health, would come by and just sit, silently, with his friend and partner. I like to encourage people to 'give flowers to the living'. Laurel was too ill to attend Hardy's funeral, he said in fact, "Babe (one of Hardy's nicknames) will understand." He gave flowers to Oliver Hardy when he was alive. I tell my runners all they time how good they look running, and otherwise, how well they are doing etc. etc. I try to do it with my kids, and probably no where near enough with my wife (I'm usually right though...thought I'd get that in HERE). When someone's gone, what good do the flowers do then? Not saying I'm great, I'm terrible at it, I just want YOU to think about it. Just surprise 'em sometimes...your husband, your kids, your friends and your running partners....hey you're running partners pull you through DAILY!!!! Just a simple, "I really enjoyed our run today"....hey when I hear that, I walk on clouds for hours. Anyway, she's gone now and she'll be missed. When my friends are gone, they are missed - when I quit training with people I miss 'em and I get excited when we run again on the 'every so often' trail. But I try to let 'e, know I love 'em....in that running buddy kind of love...like a combo of little sisters and great friends. The guys well...I love 'em and miss them too....we've had some good times and great conversations. Nothing wrong with telling them; because when they're gone.........Just think about it....Tim McGraw does that 'Live like you were dying' song....I prefer to live like I was living...That way my focus will be on giving...yeah, I like that, think I'll write a song for Snoop Dog, "Live like you were living, the shizznit flowers are for giving...to da living"! I LIKE it.........

Obscure Rocky 3 reference....Busy month so I'll be writing when I can - spent the weekend at Orange Beach, but we stayed at The Wharf for the Make A Wish Stars and Stripes 5K. Normally we do Peachtree, but we got such a great deal on the condo that we stayed for 2 nights what Atlanta would cost us for 1. 10 years in a row of doing Peachtree and we missed the last 2 years...eh, variety is the spice of life, or so I'm told. Try explaining 'variety is the spice of life' to your spouse....oops! Anyway, Saturday (7/3) we went to the Gulf State Park and ran around the lake, a perfect 5.5 mile run. Not much traffic, pretty, and the weather was great! They've also made an off road trail so you can turn this into a 10-12 mile run with shade. It's still hot, I mean c'mon...Alabama, Deep South, the beach, July....carry your own water and enjoy it. It's great! Then Sunday was the 5K - my plan was just to run as I felt. I'd run Saturday then biked 15 or so miles so I knew it wouldn't be fast and it wasn't <24:00, but it was fun!!!! Not all races ARE fun, they can be immensely rewarding and still not be fun but yesterday was fun. Then we had to drive back and leaving is always a bummer. I get a lot of e-mails from 'older' people (don't even TALK to me about age...I'm so old I have to take ginkgo biloba to remember to take my viagra! Ahhh, I'm just messin with ya, I don't even take ginkgo biloba.....), wanting to run. I hear all the time about 'life time couch potato' never been an athlete, I'm over weight....blah, blah, blah....I like the 'Moonlighting' school of therapy...SNAP OUT OF IT! The great thing about running is that it's never too late to start - just start where YOU are comfortable! I had TL in my last group, a 50 ish school marm, who's cardiologist encouraged her to start running AFTER OPEN HEART SURGERY! It's great for your heart, it' great for weight loss, just know that if you've been inactive for 20 years it'll take a while...but it won't take another 20 years! Within 6 months you can REVERSE most of the effects of a lifetime of inactivity. SIX MONTHS! That's incredible! But, YOU have to do it! TL was determined, she started slow and easy, doing the C210K program and in the end ran a 10K. I was there at the finish and it was incredible, she was so excited. We all get 2nd and 3rd chances, we just may not know we're getting them...she KNEW and she made the most of it. Her time? I have no idea, didn't matter - what mattered was that she DID IT! Her heart is stronger than it's ever been, she's got some nice legs, and a world of confidence that she didn't have. So if you're wondering if you can do it, wonder no more - take life by the horns! YOU happen to life, don't let life HAPPEN to you. If you're already running, be proud of what you're doing and keep yourself healthy. The Animals (60's British rock group) had a song "It's My Life" and one of the lines...."and I can do what I want". You can, but you have to WANT it. It won't just 'happen'...YOU have to HAPPEN...and you can and when you do you get a 'lotta mo' life and fun, and health, and happiness, and....... Lastly - Runner's Boot Camp - Mt. Brook YMCA 7/13 6:00 - 7:00 a.m. each Tues/Thurs for 4 weeks. $150.00. Core work (trust me, we'll find some muscles you didn't know you had), form and efficiency. The smoother and more efficient you run, the further and faster you can run with less effort. Let me know of any questions.....more later......

Quick caveat, I am a Peter Sellers fan and I still think that the original 'Pink Panther' is one of the best movies ever, all things considered...Peter Sellers is hilarious, David Niven is the definition of cool, Claudia Cardinale and Simone....well....va va va voom; and the score by Henry Mancini is my all time favorite soundtrack. So successful that the piano intro has become entwined with the Pink Panther himself, which is also 'wrong'. The actual Pink Panther was a diamond (in the movie)...so there! Anyway, Sellers was in The Mouse that Roared (my original point) about the tiny country of Grand Fenwick which declares war on the U.S. The mouse I'm referring to is MBH who said I could use her name, I'm just more comfortable not - she went through C210K last August all the way through the Vulcan 10K.. Cute, cute cute!!!! Very smart and personable and a little quiet (thus 'the mouse'), and I mean that in a flattering way. She made a bunch of the group runs, ran the 5K, the Vulcan Run and decided to push on to run the Mercedes Half. Somewhere right around the time of the Mercedes, I think right after she sent me an e-mail telling me how much fun she had and what an achievement it was for her. Then she added, "not sure if you know my story".....and I did not. MBH was a swimmer, healthy and used to hard work as most swimmers are, then she 'contracted' Cystic Fibrosis. Google it, it is a debilitating disease that allows a sticky mucus build up in the lungs (in her case). It is not uncommon in children and young adults and can result in early death. MBH said in her e-mail that here she was mid 20's, in graduate school,living at home with her parents and lugging around an oxygen tank. Not a great recipe for a social life. Fast forward a couple of years - MBH had a successful DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT and completed the Mercedes Half. I still recall the end of her e-mail; "I don't know that I love running, but I love that I can run; maybe I'm channeling my donor." Out of tragedy (the donors death) came triumph, MBH's life! Sometime when you're really whiny - or to paraphrase George Gipp, "when you're really up against it", and the run (or runs) just isn't (aren't) going your way remember that in so many ways your struggle could be worse. Kit Armstrong pointed out that too often we say "I HAVE to go run", when we should say "I GET to go run." As a parallel - "I have to go get my kids" vs "I get to go get my kids." What if you didn't have them.....we GET to do a lot of stuff that we say we HAVE to do. Running is my stress relief, my 'diet' (if the furnace is hot enough, it'll burn anything), my therapy, my brain dump. my church, my prayer time, my ooohhmmmmm time, my happy time. And more times than not it has turned my angry/mad/pissed off time into my...okay, I understand and can rationally deal with that #*&%$ moron. With apologies to Dickens it is my best of times and never my worst of times, not reflectively. I've had some pretty awful runs....but like MBH I'm still excited that I CAN run. Had a hot 3 miles today, kind of a recovery run from Saturday's 5K and yesterdays 8 miler - Saturday was great as always, and yesterday was just a 'cover the distance' kind of run. As Rumpole of the Bailey said, 'She who must be obeyed' was angry with me - (hell, who knows why...she was probably mad when she woke up and saw that she was STILL married to the idiot), so I ran alone and pretty much for my life. This morning I'm running with RD who's progress has been terrific, we were doing 3 miles, at her pace, on the sidewalk. Now, when I'm running a much slower pace or tired or both, I sometimes don't pick my feet up like I normally do or like I should! All of a sudden I'm reeling like a drunken sailor and somewhere Chris Berman is yelling, "there does Danny Haralson rumbling, bumbling, stumbling down the sidewalk". "Whop!" The good thing is when you rumble/bumble/stumble you can sorta pick out your landing spot and I did...a nice soft grassy spot. It's so hard to be cool when you trip - whether you fall or just stumble, there's no way to recover gracefully. You just hope no one saw and change the subject, "Yeah I'm fine (sweaty and covered in grass clippings like a green Sasquatch); how bout them Braves"? Thankfully it was only about 6 feet from the end of the run so I didn't have to run through Trussville with the police trying to capture a green Bigfoot, or scaring small children (I do that already). So I wiped off, trying hard to be nonchalant and failing miserably and in the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."