Marathon training is now underway!  The first three days of my marathon training for Las Vegas are in the books.  This is the first time in quite a while that I have run three days in a row, and my knees and shins are feeling it.  In fact, there have been very few days in my entire life where I have run three days in a row.  I have decided to follow the Intermediate training plan on this page at RunnersWorld.com,and it includes many three-in-a-rows, so I'd better get used to it.  The plan is also much more intense than any I have undertaken so far, and I hope I am ready for that much mileage.  And I hope that if I can handle it that I will be able to chop some more time off my marathon PR.  (Knock on wood).

 

In other running news, I have agreed to participate in the Philadelphia Marathon Relay with some more people from the Cool Running website.  I've never taken part in anything like that before, so it should be quite fun.

 

As for the "less driving" part as reference in the subject line, that might be what I need to do with my car.  It was just in the shop for a new battery and a new muffler.  Ack!  Not cheap.  My 2001 Maxima has 93,000 miles.  Yes, that's a lot, but not an exorbitant amount.  However, I guess it's the point at which anything and everything can start to go wrong, dangit!  They also tell me my front struts may need replacing soon.  Ack again!  Well, once all that gets done (and paid for!), hopefully the car will THEN finally be "good as new" and ready to last a long long time (knock on wood)...

It's been a while since a blog post devoted to running.  So here it goes.  I have now registered for two upcoming races: The New Haven 20k Road Race and the Las Vegas Marathon.  This will be the third year in a row for me in the New Haven race.  The race is on Labor Day every year.  And this time I hope to meet up with a few runners that I have virtually met thru the Cool Running web site.  I am really looking forward to this because I've been spending a lot of time at this web site and I feel like I've gotten to know a few of these people.  It will be nice to meet some of them in person.

 

And I am also thrilled to have signed up for my third marathon.  Why Las Vegas?  Well, why not?  It should make for a fun long weekend.  I do want to make sure that I choose something where Maggie can also have a good time.  And Las Vegas should fit the bill. 

 

In addition to registering for the race, I also booked our flights and hotel for Las Vegas.  In doing research, I found that the flights to Vegas were running about $300 per person.  Then I checked for a vacation package on USAirways which would include the airfare plus three nights in a hotel.  And as it turns out, it's basically the same price!  We got the exact same flights plus three nights in the Luxor, plus shuttle transportation to and from McCarran, for a grand total (including all taxes and fees) of $699.  That seems like a pretty good deal to me.  Why the Luxor?  Well, first of all it's at the south end of the strip, which is where the marathon starts and ends.  And I'd really rather not have to walk too far before or after the race.  And second, the Luxor has an 8pm checkout policy (whereas most other hotels are 11am), and this is helpful since our flight out isn't until 4pm on Tuesday. 

 

I certainly must say that I am pleased with all this.  For the moment, everything is coming up Bob Mann!  We'll see how long this lasts.... 

Oh yeah!  Football season is just around the corner!  August may be a long and hot month, but there's always plenty of football talk!  Today marks the debut of the USA Today Coaches' Poll, which has Ohio State at #1.  This is a small surprise to me, since OSU has to replace so many starters on defense.  But then again, who else should be #1?  Defending champ Texas?  They've got to replace last year's hero, Vince Young.  Frankly, I think I would vote for them #1, simply because they are the defending champs.  Pre-season rankings are basically meaningless in my book.  How can you judge what teams are the best when none of them have played a single game?  And thus I think I'd give my nod to Texas out of respect for having won the National Title last year.  That may be a stupid reason, but it's as good as any.

 

Southern Cal?  They really have to replace a lot of parts, including most of the skill positions, specifically the last two Heisman winners.  But they've drafted very well and supposedly have reloaded.  Notre Dame?  I think I'm a little less on the ND bandwagon than most people.  But they'll certainly be good.

 

Oklahoma has its problems now, having dismissed two players from the team including starting QB Rhett Bomar.  That should be enough to knock them out of contention.

 

West Virginia is a team that, in my mind, has a great shot at a National Championship.  This is not necessarily becuase they are the best team, but because they have the most favorable schedule.  Their toughest game this year?  At #13 Louisville on Nov 2.  That's it.  Get past the Cardinals and an undefeated season is theirs for the taking.  And if Louisville wins that game, they would have a great shot at an undefeated season.  Their only other tough game is also at home, against Miami on Sep 16.  I think there's a good chance that a Big East team may be playing in the BCS Championship game.

 

As for my beloved Florida Gators, well, they've got a tough schedule.  after the requisite first couple of cupcake games against directional schools (Southern Miss and Central Florida), the rest of the schedule includes games against #23 Tennessee, #24 Alabama, #9 LSU, #6 Auburn, #14 Georgia, #30 South Carolina and #10 Florida St.  Ouch.  That won't be easy.  As much confidence as I have in Urban Meyer and Chris Leak, I find it very hard to believe that they can maneuver thru this schedule unblemished.  Every year this decade, the Gators have lost at least one game to an SEC West team.  I expect it to happen again.  The most likely candidate is the Oct 14 game at Auburn.  That game is 3rd straight week against ranked teams (Bama and LSU being the two previous weeks) and it is on the road. 

 

All told, I think the #8 ranking for UF is fair.  Despite the incredibly hard schedule, I like the chances of a 10-2 regular season, while 9-3 wouldn't surprise me. 

 

No matter what, I am just excited that the season is only 4 weeks away!!