Official training has begun!

 This past weekend, training began. I ran a short 4 miler in the fog on Saturday, and didn't sleep very well that night, I think just due to nerves & knowing of what I'm embarking upon is now becoming very real. Walter said to me yesterday morning after I got home from 11 miles, "How far away is April mom?" I said,"About 4 months." He paused to think before he responded with,"That's not very long at all." Swallowing hard I said, "No it is not son, not long at all." That little conversation gave me butterflies of excitement & nervousness about the actual day, but overall I felt good, and strong with a 1:37 time for my 11 miles.

Walter, the one in the blue t shirt & red shoes.

Saturday mornings will be devoted to Saturday Basketball through February (which I've personally come to enjoy a lot so far), watching Walter learn & go through drills that take me back to junior high. I pray he's a better ball player than me, oh how I pray for that. Here's to hoping that "Brick Wick" stops with me. Here in this photo, his coach asked him if the crazy 8 he was doing was difficult, Walter distinctly told him no, and its wonderful to see him take pride in this sport. He's quite the shooter also, but currently they are focused on dribbling & getting that to a higher level.

Crazy foggy weekend.

So with the winter darkness, comes more challenges of balancing time. When I started out at 6:39, it was still very dark, sunrise to begin at 7:39 a.m. I had an LED keychain flashlight with me, helping to guide my path, as well as my reflective vest, shoes & pants. I was so thankful for the insanely warm weather, I couldn't have asked for better & only required 1 layer of under armour; in December! That's unheard of! :)

A few additional thoughts regarding the early morning run.

1. Dogs sound far more ferocious when you cannot see them (Two short little hounds, who were as friendly as my own, sounded like attack dogs, ready to strike).

2. Your eyes have a difficult time telling what is real & imaginary (I make myself jump & scream a lot at imaginary bear, wolves, etc).

3. The LED came in very handy, especially with the fog. I recommend it.

Happy training...here goes nothin.'