Five O'Clock Shadow

Around about mile 30 last night, two things came across my mind: First, it dawned on me that I should turn back and head home before I was stranded in Nowhere without so much as a candle-flicker on account of the shorter days, and secondly, I realized that riding the long miles solo these days affords me maybe just a little too much time to geek out with my camera-phone.

Oh yeah, and this marathon training thing is nuts. I've put in over 65 miles in the past two weeks, with a 7 mile tempo run on my plate for Friday and a 20 mile long run on Sunday. Monday I start a two-week taper, and then it's the long run on the 9th. Yeah, and the long run it's going to be.

Suffice it to say, this will be the first, last and only year I attempt to race short-course triathlons all summer, and then "cram" for a marathon in October. I feel like that delinquent college freshman roommate who's slacked off all semester and is now staring the class final in the face. On the plus side, I'm building a pretty phenomenal run base as I enter the off-season, which will only help in next year's middle-distance tri's.

See you out there.