Ode to Bloom (5/2001-11/2008)

Bloom and her sister came into our house in August of 2001 after we had moved to South Carolina as my wife wanted someone in the house when I was at the hospital overnight.

Last summer, she developed autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which caused her to be extremely fatigued.  She did well for several months, on various medications, but we came home tonight and I found her in the back yard.

I'll miss my running buddy.

Marathon = Fail

Well, I dropped out at 18 miles.  It was a warm day.

I started out with my friend, did well until about 10 miles, he turned to me and said "We're going slower and slower."  And we were.  At that point we had gone from an 8:10 mile, to an 8:45.

We got separated and I started having abdominal cramps.  I made it to the halfway point at a 8:59 mile pace, which had been my original goal, but had to start walking when I had cramps in my legs.  After 2-3 miles of suffering, I went to the medical tent at mile 17.  My blood pressure was 100/60 and my pulse was 120.  I had been walking for two miles.

At that point, I figured it wasn't worth walking all the way to the end of the race for a medal I hadn't really earned.  I shook my fist at the sky and vowed to return.

Back to training.

Chicago (Marathon) Bound

In-transit tomorrow for Chicago.  Stopping in Kentucky overnight, then on to the Windy City Saturday morning.

I'll be staying with a friend's family for the night before the race, then pasta night, sleep, RUN.

Wish me luck!

Still in Disgaea 3

Still playing Disgaea, just passed through level 4-3.  Quite the game.  It keeps opening up unlockables as you level characters.  There are still many hours left in the main story, though sometimes, I can't be bothered with that.

Next weekend, I'll be running the Chicago Marathon.  I have been training to sub-4, which is under a nine minute mile.  I think it is very possible.  I'm probably about the top shape I've been for a marathon.  Today, I ran with the regular group, ran about 8.3 with the group, 1/2 mile each way as a warm-up and cool down.  With the group, was running around an 8 minute mile (much less for some of the really flat areas), which fills me with hope of getting sub 3:50.

We'll see.  If you're interested in tracking me on-line Sunday morning, starting at 8 AM (Central time), PM me and I'll give you the info.

Strange Week

I ran a 5K on Saturday, which went quite well. I finished 2nd overall for the males, 3rd overall with a great time (for me) of 21:22. It was a small town race here and there weren't many runners, not to minimize my achievement, but it is what it is. I also ran with my 4 year old daughter in the 30 yard (or so) Fun Run.

Then I ran with my buddy Sunday morning about 8 miles, didn't feel like I got enough in for the prep for the Chicago (yikes, 3 weeks from Sunday!) Marathon, so I ran with the group another nine miles, and felt better about myself.

Monday night, the four other physicians and I met with the administration of the hospital physician group we are a part of and found out that they will be ending the contract with our practice in a few months. This was quite a suprise for all of us. We knew times were tight, but expected more of a "we need to tighten the hatches" kind of speech as opposed to "we won't beat around the bush, you'll be getting a letter this week."

Anyway, Tuesday, we informed the clinic staff. Tuesday night, it was a misting rain and cool, so I decided to go for a run. I started running and got in about four miles. Then, I ran into a group of runners that I had been trying to start with when I started my run, so I joined them for another eight miles. That made me feel better, but I was running in a little "pity cave" for about 3 miles of the second part of the run then running angry for the next five miles.

Things are more settled as of Friday, discussions with a plan of attack is starting to formulate.

Now, I plan on running 22 tomorrow morning, so we'll just see how that goes.

Currently playing Disgaea 3, wow.  It is like crack.