too busy to post

I have been bad . . . again. Forgive me, it was long weekend.

First . . . everyone commenting-BEHAVE! For those who have not figured it out, Anonymous (most of the time) is my parents. They love me dearly but do not understand my desire to run. Heck, I don't understand my desire to run! I think it a compulsive behavior disorder of some sorts . . . I have to be doing something. Better than running than drinking myself into a stupor every night or shoving a needle in my arm. I always have and always will be fighting with the weight issue. I am not a fatty but I do tend to let the overindulgence of life overtake the discipline of fitness. One of my many demons.

Now let's talk about running-

Thursday night was miserable weather. I know it's not an excuse but after getting home and finding a message from FEDEX that I needed to come to their place to pick up a package, it was all the excuse I needed not to run. It was mid 40s and raining and I was fighting a headcold last week. No run Thursday but I did run to FEDEX and pickup my tickets to the Auburn Alabama game for Saturday.

Friday I did a quick 4 miler. Normally I would have run a 6 miler or so but I knew what was coming up for the weekend and wanted to spread out the mileage. A good start to the weekend.

Saturday. The big day. Auburn and Alabama neither had very good seasons this year but it is still the big rivalry game and I HAVE TICKETS! Susan and I going to the game and it will be a long day. Susan came over early Saturday morning and we ran 30 minutes before cleaning up and heading to Tuscaloosa. This was going to be an interesting day . . . . I am an Auburn fan and Susan is an Alabama fan. Oil and water. Oh yes, I must mention that Auburn has won 4 in a row and has not lost a game while visiting Tuscaloosa. Most of the bammers (Alabama fans) I know felt confident that this year things would change. Here's a few pictures from the day-



Here we are after a day of eating and drinking and visiting friends but right before going into the stadium. As you can tell I am wearing orange and blue (the good guys) and Susan is in her crimson (the bad guys).




Here is Susan before the game. She is happy. We are on her campus where she went to school. We are in her stadium where she has seen Alabama win so many games in the past. At this point in time she is thinking that her team is going to kick my teams butt. Do not ask here what is in her coke!!!






Her I am prior to the game. One a few Auburn fans sitting in this section. I am hopeful but dreading an Alabama win. It is just a game. It does not matter who wins. It is a pretty day, we're having fun, it is a nice campus and stadium. It is ashame that we have to ruin it with a football game.

Right before kickoff. The Auburn team is coming out of the tunnel, having to run past the Alabama cheerleaders and that big red banner. Yuck. The game was exciting and back and forth. To be truthful, Alabama played a good game but as most people thought, the team the made the most mistakes would lose. Alabama had four turnovers and Auburn had one.

The outcome was better than I had hoped. Auburn won 22-15. A nice close game that was sealed with a David Irons interception with less than a minute left to end Alabama's drive to tie up the game. Whew! Nothing better than listening to the Auburn crowd singing Rammer Jammer to the Alabama crowd. For those of you who don't know it, Rammer Jammer is a song that bammers sing after each game to insult the losing team. There's a line in the song along the lines of "we just beat the hell out of you". Very controversial song that the University "officially" does not endorse and discourages but bammers still do it. It is so much fun to be able to turn it around and give it back to them! Five wins in a row and Auburn still has not lost in Alabama's house. Sorry to the bammers out there . . . . you'd be bragging had you won so give me my moment!

Back to running-
Sunday. Today I am doing my long run since I didn't do it on Saturday. After church, lunch, and going to Susan's daughter's (MA) basketball game, we went to the Lakeshore trail for a long run. It was cold (mid 40s), cloudy, and windy. Not a very nice day for a run but run we must. I did a 10 miler and Susan did about 8 miles. We ran together for the first 5 miles and then I decided to speed up while Susan wanted to do some more. Normally she is good for 5 or 6 miles but she wanted to add a little. She enjoyed her run as did I. However, I think that she is going to sore and tired but that is what training is all about, isn't it? My 10 was fun and easy. I could tell I was a little tired since I am still fighting the remnants of a headcold. However, I was never in doubt of my pace or finishing.

A nice three day stretch. About 17 miles in less than a 48 hour stretch and that is throwing in a long football Saturday in the middle of it. I'm happy about it!