New Beginnings (is there such a thing as an "old" beginning?)

Natalie Elizabeth Werner came 10 days ago -- and Pekka started writing his blog in English...seems appropriate for me to start something new.

The Past
Injury schminjury. I didn't have my training in line for lots of reasons...why recount them to myself? Just briefly: I am now coming off a hip injury; I know it's getting better because I pulled through the Baltimore Marathon 2 days ago nearly pain free. It was my 15th or 16th marathon and, even still, it was pretty weak. What have I been doing wrong? This go around, I tried combining the running schedules from Benji Durden and from www.runnersworld.com's Smartcoach . I think I peaked once (or maybe twice) around 90 miles in a week - but I mostly hovered in the 50's - 70's. Inconsistent. Then there are my long runs: the Striders' Bagel Runs historically include three or four water stops (I take about 1-4 min/stop).

The Future
Rather than say what I will do - to save public embarrassment, I will not set myself up - I will write what I already did. I have to write SOMETHING that is like a plan, though.
SHORT TERM: over the next month, I will stick w/ light running, physical therapy, some swimming, and some endurance "base" building. Intensity will be kept low at least until late November or early December.
LONG TERM: keep tweaking Benji + Smartcoach hybrid...look at Reaves' and RedFox's training efforts for inspiration, while trying to jazz up my long runs w/ some intensity. Train with my motley crew whenever possible including our fearless leader-Carlos, Tom, Pekka, and Jason. Shoot for Boston 2009, baby!

Do I even have time for this Blog stuff? If I manage to do it...I still might just come out a mediocre runner -- but at least my writing skills will improve.



Acknowledgments
Finally, none of this would be possible if it were not for Crystal, my wife (and some credit to my boys, Justin and Ryan). They have ALWAYS made time for me to run. I love them dearly.