Perspective

I haven't written anything here for quite some time because I don't feel I have had much to say.  Or maybe it is that I feel I just would be saying the same thing over and over.  Or maybe I feel the only people who read it are the ones I already run with or talk to on a regular basis.  How exciting is that?  We got to hear Bob drone on and on about running, now let's go read Bob drone on and on about running.  The fact of the matter is that I am very excited about running.  Especially now.  Because I am putting in miles that I never thought I could.  Even after running two marathons, in the last two three weeks I have done my third, fourth and fifth longest runs.  My training runs before the last few weeks never exceeded 15.84 miles.  I just never did longer ones, for whatever reason.  Recently, I did a 16 miler, a 17 miler and this weekend, a 19 miler.  This is monumental for me because either due to some injury issues, laziness or mental blocks, I could not do my long runs in the past.  To be able to get these miles in has boosted my confidence in a significant manner.  I'm looking at a 20 mile run this coming weekend.  I have about a month and a half before the marathon and if I can stay healthy and uninjured I should be able to get the sub-4 hour time I want.  I want more than that, but anything under 4 will almost satisfy me.  Almost.  Who knows.  I am never really satisfied.  I think to be satisfied, I will have to be secure in the knowledge that I put everything I had into the event and the training.  Since I am still learning about this distance crap and how my body reacts to it, I don't think this will be my last marathon.  As much as I want it to be, it probably won't.  Because I want to put speed and endurance together and I think this will be my year of getting the endurance part down.  So, there you go, my friends.  There it is.  There is more in my tank and I know it, and until I get it all out, you are gonna have to read about it.  Or not read about and have the knowledge that the words are floating around in cyberspace annoying the readers in limbo world.  Imagine that, being in limbo between heaven and hell.  Your soul searching for something to read and my crap is what you find in the magazine rack.  In this issue of Dante's Inferno Weekly we have an article by Bob Nourse.  Just imagine that.  Like the modern version of The Pit and the Pendulum.  The Pit and the Nourseblog.  The Telltale Nourse Writing About Running.  Under the floor boards, you just hear the dull rumblings of me talking about running.  A fate worse than death.  You see, I bore myself and I am doing that here.  So, let's move on.

Last week, my dad got attacked by bees.  I have written about it ad infinitum and a lot.  He was up on a wall at his house and he stepped on a yellow jacket nest.  He was stung about 20 times and was put in the hospital.  The dude is 80 years old and he has Alzheimer's.  That is bad enough, but the miracle of it all is how he avoided falling off the wall.  The fall would have probably killed him or at least put him in serious trouble.  He is a retired West Point Colonel,  awarded the Silver Star in Vietnam and tough as nails, yet how he got off that wall while swarmed by bees is just beyond comprehension.  The wall is about 3 feet wide and the only way down is to go back through the swarm and down a tiny staircase.  There are times that I think I am pretty tough and then I think of him.  Smart and tough enough to get swarmed, stung and in some serious pain and still get off that wall.  Even in his somewhat foggy state, his once razor sharp mind was able to take over and get him out of the mess.  I am amazed by him.  Always have been.  I feel lucky that he is still around.  A little perspective is good sometimes.