Day 720 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Oct
Distance	4360.4	1334.4	103.7
Time	27 days, 22 hrs, 42 min	10 days, 3 hrs, 47 mins	18:40
Days	720	206	16
States	16	3	1

Well, I did get out and run today. I even picked up the pace a little, and ran 4.6 miles in 46 minutes. It felt really good. I've been tired and cranky lately, and I think at least part of it is lack of exercise. I want to get back in the habit of getting out nearly every day.

It's been a fairly easy month, except for that one day. Sixteen days ties last December for the lowest number of days run in a month, and 103 miles is my lowest total since February. But of course, there was a marathon in there, which means it was hardly a slack month. I'll try to get out more days and put in more miles in November. And I expect to be running into Washington this month, adding another state to the total.

I voted

I voted today. Wisconsin is one of the states that is still being contended, so we get lots of good political ads. Now they will all be wasted, as far as I'm concerned. Actually, they were all wasted anyway. There wasn't much chance that I was going to change my mind, and if I did, it wouldn't be because of a 30 second TV spot. It's actually kind of distressing to think that such things matter! But of course, I'm not the first or the last person to notice that.

Day 719 -- Fishing

Still pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so I thought I'd throw in a generic billboard for Erik's World Class Fishing Adventure. His web site says to "Honk next time you see one of our billboard ads along the I-5 freeway in Washington and Oregon." Oops. I'm not on, or even near, I-5. My bad. Ignore this billboard.

I took the last two days off, for no better reason than because I can. I don't have a schedule, and I'm sticking to it.

I had a good run today. I'm pretty much over feeling sore. I can walk up and down stairs, ride my bike, no problem. Except for actual running. By the end of 4.2 miles, my legs were feeling it. I need to build back up. But slowly.

Day 718 -- Blalock Canyon

Mapquest shows the town of Blalock on the road between Rufus and Arlington, but according to GhostTowns.com, Blalock has been underwater since they built the John Day Dam near Rufus. I can't find anything to contradict that, nor can I find any pictures of Blalock, so I thought that I would settle for this photos of Blalock Canyon, which I got from Eli's Blog. Presumably, if Blalock is under the river, it's at the bottom of Blalock Canyon.

I thought I'd also put myself in the foreground, so you could get a good look at my new shirt.

I managed five miles today. It was windy, and the wind was mostly in my face the second half of the run. But it has gotten much more windy this afternoon. There's actually a wind advisory out. I may or may not run tomorrow, depending on the weather. Isn't that great? Since I'm not training for anything, I don't have to run if I don't feel like it!

Day 717 -- New Jogger

I've had that same cutout of me for over a year, since right after the Quad Cities Marathon. So, it's definitely time for a new one. This is me in my Des Moines Marathon shirt. Get used to it. You'll be seeing it for a while.

And what am I standing in front of? This is the motor home that Dennis and Betty Johnson took on their Journey of Discovery. It is parked somewhere near Rufus, which is where I am running.

Today, I did a brisk four miles. I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm pretty sure that what I've been missing is my run. So it felt good.

TIaRT - Running and Weight Loss...Or Not

Today's topic for Take It and Run Thursday over at Runners' Lounge is "Running and Weight". My contribution to the conversation is to note that running, in and of itself, is not enough to control your weight. I have run some 1400 miles this year, and I have not lost an ounce. I think I've gained a little. I hesitate to think of what I might weigh if I had eaten like I have and not run 1400 miles.

As I said after the marathon, I would like to lose some weight, to make running easier. I'm trying to get serious and get back under 200 pounds. But running alone won't do it. I've also got to control my intake.

The good news is, I don't need to control it that much. Since I am physically very active, I can eat 2200 - 2500 calories a day and still lose weight. I just need to do that.

Day 716 -- Rufus

Back on the road again. Not far, and definitely not fast. I did an easy three miles today, just to get myself stretched out. It felt good, even though it was a bit cold and pretty breezy.

I have managed to run more or less to Rufus, Oregon. Thanks to Roy and Jackie, I have this nice pic of Le Page Park. Roy and Jackie seem to be making their way around the country in a massive old RV.

Pics!

The Photographer has sent pictures! I guess she sent them already Sunday night, but the Internet ate them. She sent a lot, but I picked out a few that tell the story of the race pretty well.


This is the very beginning of the race. Look how cheery I am! I am going to have a great day. I'll probably run two marathons, or three!


This is the stadium, at mile 12. Still looking pretty happy. (This shot also has a few of my pace group friends. Just to my left, in the black, is Christopher. It was his first marathon. I can't remember who the woman in front of him is. To her left, in the red shorts, is Rosella, a Drake student originally from St. Louis. This was her second marathon, both in Des Moines. To her left, number 1791, is Sara. She does some sort of clerical work in Iowa City. This was her first marathon.)


OK, this is getting along there. I'm not sure how far, but you can see that I'm visibly sagging.


This is right at the end. My head is down. I'm just pounding out the steps. You can see the 5:00 pace group behind me.


Here I am after, with Mrs. J. Starting to smile. A little.


A few not me photos. Here is Grandma Jogger and the littlest Little Jogger, and the signs that they made.


These are not my dogs. They are not any relation to me. But they support me anyway. Isn't that great!

Now what?

I intimated to Mrs. J that I may be beginning to realize that the marathon is not my distance. The half, I can run. I have to be prepared, and reasonably rested, but if I am, I can run all out, have a good day, and the next morning, I can still walk.

On the other hand, I feel like I have unfinished business. I should be able to run a whole marathon. I should be able to run faster than 4:50. There's really no reason why I didn't do it yesterday. I had done my training. I had done my taper. The weather was absolutely beautiful. So I should have done it.

I know that I psyched myself out. I was getting tired at 18 miles, and instead of running one more mile at a time, I looked ahead at 8 more miles and I fell apart.

I'm also carrying too much weight. I have been as low as 190 pounds, but right now I'm sitting at 220. Losing those 30 pounds would sure make running the marathon a lot easier.

So, for now, I'm just going to take it easy. I'm definitely not running another marathon before spring. For the next few months, I'll just try to get back in touch with the joy of running. Maybe work on my speed a little. Try to lose some weight. And then I'll start thinking about what's next.

Day IMT Des Moines Marathon, from A to Z

There are 26 letters in the alphabet, and 26 miles in the marathon. So for each mile, I came up with something for which I am grateful, and/or something that motivates me.

Mile A - I am grateful for the medium Little Jogger and for the oldest and newest Little Jogger, both of whose names begin with A.

I started out with the 4:30 pace group. I thought I could do 4:30. At mile A, we were all feeling pretty good. There were piles of people around us, and most of them seemed pretty skeptical about my idea. Oh, well.

Mile B - I am grateful for the Friendly Photographer, whose name begins with B. She has promised to send me some photos, and I will post them.

Mile C - I am concerned about my cholesterol. Despite having been a vegetarian for about a year, my cholesterol has not gone down. It has gone up. So I need to get serious about my diet. Obviously, I am getting plenty of exercise.

Mile D - I dedicated this mile to my dad, whose name did start with D. Dad was not a runner. I don't know if I ever saw him run 100 yards. In fact, for the last 10 years of his life, he was in a wheelchair. He had had a leg amputated, from a complication of diabetes. Whatever else, I am in better shape at 44 that Dad was, and I hope that somewhere, he's proud of me.

Mile E - I am grateful for endurance. And energy.

At this point, our pace group was getting to be pretty good friends. We were running through a very nice neighborhood. Karen, from Boston, suggested that she might be able to sell her small condo and buy one of these big old houses. So when we passed one that was for sale, Sara, from Iowa City, grabbed one of the for sale flyers, and Karen decided, yes, she could. I suggested that the commuting costs would do her in.

Mile F - I am grateful for friends, and Sara (the only person who was playing with me at this point) is grateful for family. Actually, I'm grateful for both.

Mile G - I love the goody bags! At a marathon, they give you a whole bag full of samples, ads, coupons, and all kinds of stuff. I end up throwing out 3/4 of it. But I just love looking through it. It's like Christmas! Later on, it occurred to me that I am also grateful for Gatorade and GU.

Mile H - Hal Higdon is my running guru. I have followed his schedules in training. I said at the time that if I didn't finish, it would be Higdon's fault. I did finish, but it was not as beautiful as I would have hoped. It was Higdon's fault.

Mile I - Ice cream!

Mile J - I had a tough time with this one. I was starting to get tired. Sara said that she was grateful to have a job, which I guess I am, too. Or maybe it wasn't Sara. It seems to me that her husband's name is Jason. Maybe she did two.

Mile K - I am inspired by Dean Karnazes. That man can run. And it's not just that he can run. He loves to run. He runs, really, for its own sake. I won't ever run 200 miles straight, or run 50 marathons in 50 days. But sometimes, I just get out and run because that's what I like to do. That's something that Karno and I have in common.

Mile L - I am grateful by my mom, whose name starts with L. At 57, she had a heart attack, and almost died. She changed her life, lowered her cholesterol, and, at 74, is still going strong. She's not a runner, but she walks a lot. And she's an inspiration. Thanks, Mom.

Mile M - This is the midpoint. Isn't that a handy coincidence? Between L and M, we ran into and around Drake Stadium, the home of the Drake Relays. That was pretty fun. They were supposed to put our pictures on the Jumbotron, but apparently they were having technical difficulty.

Mile N - Of course, I am grateful for Mrs. Jogger, whose name starts with N. She has been great. She has put up with a lot for me to run this marathon.

This was when began to feel tired. I kept up with the pace group, but we were laughing and talking a lot less. Still almost half the alphabet to go!

Mile O - We were still On Pace. We could still make it, if we could just hang on.

Mile P - I am grateful for Mrs. Jogger's family, whose family name begins with P. Her mother turned 80 this year. She (and Mrs. J's father, when he was alive) has always been very accepting of me, even though they don't have much experience with pointy-headed college professors. Sara was grateful for our pace group.

Mile Q - I am grateful for the littlest Little Jogger, whose name begins with Q. He is seven, going on 21. Sara noticed the Quiet. At this point, we were running on a path through a park, and we were pretty much chatted out. All you could hear was the heavy breathing.

Mile R - I ran this one for my brother and sister, both of whose names begin with R. My brother had a lot of physical problems, and died at 41, of cancer. My sister has MS. Another pair of non-runners. But both great people, and I'm happy to have them in my family.

Mile S - I was going to mention the stadium, which was fun, but I decided to dedicate Mile S to Sara. She had really helped me to come this far. I'm glad that I got a chance to tell her that, because within a mile or two, I had lost her. We had both dropped back from the 4:30 group. She just kept right on running, but around Mile S, I started walking for big stretches. For a few miles, I'd walk, then run and catch up to her, then walk some more, then run and catch up. And then I walked too much, and I never caught her again.

Mile T - This was for the first Little Jogger. She is terrific. I'm glad to have her.

Mile U - Undiscovered country. Since my longest training run was 21 miles, after this, I'd be running farther than I had since the Quad Cities Marathon last fall. Or rather, walking. Because at this point, that's mostly what I was doing.

Mile V - At this point, I was Very tired. I had lost Sara for good, and there was no one to play with, so I just kept it to myself.

Around this point, I was passed by a young woman wearing a t-shirt that dissed my undergraduate school. Another woman, running near me, said something about it, and I asked if she had gone there. Yes, she had, and she recognized me. We both were student managers for the football team. She was a couple of years behind me. It's weird, because if it hadn't been for that girl's t-shirt, we never would have said a word to each other.

Mile W - Water. I was stopping and Walking at every water stop.

Mile X - I just needed a little eXtra energy, but I didn't have it. It wasn't my breath. It was my legs. They were too tired to carry me forward. I kept thinking, "Ok, I'm going to run the rest of the way." But I kept failing.

Mile Y - Yes, I will finish. Slowly. But I will finish.

As I approached Mile Z, only 0.2 miles to go, the 5:00 pace groups caught me. I never saw the 4:45 pace group. I have no idea how they got past me. I knew I was behind, but I was even further back than I thought. I did run the last 0.2, but it was too late to beat my Quad Cities time.

Mile Z - ZZZZZZ. I'm going to sleep well tonight.

So, I finished just seconds under 5 hours. I'm disappointed, but only slightly. It just wasn't my day. It was still a full marathon, which not many people can do.

The biggest disappointment is that I didn't see Sara at the end. She finished only about 10 minutes ahead of me, but I couldn't find her. Nor did I see Tom the Pacer, to thank him for the inspiration, and apologize for not being able to keep up with him. And I didn't see Tom and Amy, from the Runners' Lounge, either at the beginning or the end. I did see Bowulf at the beginning, because he was the 2:10 pacer for the half. So he was carrying a big sign, and was easy to spot.

I'll post pics when I get them. Thanks to everyone who helped and inspired me through the race. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much.

Race Day, 4:30 am

The timer to the right says 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 57 seconds. I must have screwed up my Daylight Savings Time, because it's just over three hours to the marathon.

I went to be early, at about 8:30, and I think I fell asleep shortly after 9:00. I must have slept hard. Mrs. Jogger says that she came to bed, we snuggled, she tossed and turned, and eventually she got up to sleep on the sofa, so that she wouldn't keep me awake. I remember none of it. When I woke up at about midnight, she wasn't there, and I wondered why. But I fell back asleep before I could investigate.

I woke up again at 2, and went to the bathroom. That's when I found Mrs. Jogger on the sofa. Still awake. We chatted, and I went back to bed. I slept again until 4. At that point, I just wanted to get up. I stayed in bed for a while, drifting in and out of strange dreams. But now I'm up, and we really have to get moving before too long. It's an hour's drive up to Des Moines, and I want to be there about an hour before the start. Both the girls are coming with us, which could be interesting. They don't normally get along that well. But if I know the Photographer, she'll show them an adventure.

Wish me luck. See you at the finish line.

Expo!

I went to the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Sports and Fitness Expo today. For those of you unfamiliar with the marathon, the expo is the place where you have to go to pick up your race number and t-shirt, and by the way, while you're there, maybe someone can sell you stuff. There were three aisles like the one in the photo above, with shoe dealers, chiropractors, running clubs, and all sorts of stuff. I love the expo. It's just fun. Lots and lots of junk that I don't need, and lots and lots of runners.


This is Tom Perri, who will be leading the 4:30 marathon group. He seems like a nice guy. He's from the Twin Cities, and mentions in his bio that he has tickets for all the major sports, so I had to get him to promise that he wouldn't try to lose me somewhere just because I was wearing my Packers headband. I guess I'll get to know him pretty well tomorrow, if we're going to be running together for four and a half hours.


I just liked this sign.

I'm nervous. I don't remember being this nervous before the Quad Cities Marathon last year. I don't know whether it's because I want to do better than just finish. At the very least, I want to beat my Quad Cities time of 4:51. I would really like to hit 4:30. We'll see.

Maybe I'm nervous because the whole family is here. At the Quad Cities, I went down by myself, stayed in a hotel, and went out by myself in the morning. Today, Mrs. Jogger and all the Little Joggers are here. Tomorrow, I'll be going up with the Photographer Friend and the oldest and newest Little Jogger, and Mrs. J and Grandma Jogger and the other LJ's are going to come up to see the end of the race. If I run a crappy race, they'll all be standing around, waiting for me to finish.

Well, there's not much more I can do to prepare at this point. I'll just go out there, and run the best that I can.

No Run Today

Here we are at Grandma Jogger's house. The drive wasn't bad. There was a light rain pretty much the whole way, but since I was driving in it, not running in it, it was OK.

The weather looks OK for Sunday. Low of 53, high of 66, partly cloudy. Just about perfect, I would say.

I didn't run this morning. I slept in until 6:00 again, which felt good. I didn't bring extra running clothes, which means I won't run tomorrow. So my next run it The Big One.

I did bring along a big pile of grading, to keep me busy while I wait for Sunday. Otherwise, I'd just pace around anyway. This way, I can take my frustrations out on my students.

RBOC

• No running today. The schedule had a day off, and I took a day off. I slept in a little, but didn't sleep that well, overall.
  
• I did bike to work. I met a friend in passing, and, just to say something, said something about the beautiful weather. He said yeah, but he wasn't happy about having to scrape the frost of his car this morning. I said that if he had ridden his bike, he wouldn't have that problem. I got to feel smugly superior. Ha!
  
• I also went to my yoga class in the evening. It was just a six-week class, and I missed three of them. This was the last one. When we went into the final relaxation pose at the end (our instructor calls it the "corpse pose," which is graphic, if a bit macabre) the woman to my right started snoring. I swear!
  
• Tomorrow is our one-day Fall Break at the University. We're going to grab the kids out of school at noon and head on down to Grandma Jogger's house. It will be nice to have a visit, although I will have to bring some grading with me. Of course.
  
• I'm getting uptight about the marathon. I have the impression of having dreamt about it the last two nights, but I can't recall any details of the dreams. Probably just as well. I know that I'll be fine, but it seems like forever since I've had a good long run.
  

Day 714 -- The Dalles

It's a little hard to see what this is, and it will probably be even harder with the size I uploaded it. Your best bet is to go to the Travel for a Day site, where I stole it, right click on the picture, and view it at full size. It's artwork on an overpass over Interstate 84 as it goes past The Dalles. Those are silver salmon, leaping up the stream. I think it's kind of cool.

I looked over the Welcome to The Dalles site, but I didn't immediately see why it is called "The Dalles", and not just Dalles. Or Fort Dalles, which it apparently was, once upon a time.

I didn't really want to run today. I just didn't feel like getting out of bed. I had to give myself a good pep talk. I think that I've mentioned that I'm reading 50/50, Dean Karnazes's account of his 50 marathons in 50 days. Somewhere in there (I looked for the exact quote, but couldn't find it) he says something like, "I never feel worse after a run than I did before it." I don't know that I'd say "never," but I do know that I almost always am glad after a run, even if the feeling quickly fades as I get caught up in the day's tribulations. Anyway, I told myself that I would feel better after my run, and pushed myself out the door...

...into a cold rain. Yuck. If there ever was a day for turning around, going back inside, and going back to bed, this was it. But I didn't do it. I ran an easy four miles, and I did feel better.

Day 713 -- Chenoweth

From Bryan's Picassa Web Album, a random rock on a random ridgeline near Chenoweth. Sorry that I haven't had any good, imaginative locations lately. It's partly the part of the country that I'm running through (although heaven knows it's not as bad as Western Nebraska) and partly that I've been pretty busy. Tonight is actually the first night in a while that I'm not even trying to get any schoolwork done.

I did run an easy three this morning. (This was my shortest run since July 15th.) A cold front came through last night, and it was a nice, cool fall morning. Weather.com is still calling for partly cloudy and cool in Des Moines on Saturday. Their predicted low keeps creeping up, though. It was about 45, and now it's up to 50. I guess I should be grateful if it's not as warm as it was last weekend.

Speaking of the weather, I just have to share this one. I stopped in to the Thrift Store the other day to grab a cheap sweatshirt in case it's cold on Sunday morning. For $1.75, I can get a sweatshirt that I don't care about, wear it long enough to keep me warm while I'm standing around, and then ditch it when we get going. Lots of people do it. Lots of marathons even have a program where they pick up all the lost clothing and donate it to Goodwill or whoever. (I don't know for a fact whether the Des Moines Marathon does this.)

Anyway, I just grabbed something in my size. It has Duck Unlimited on the front, which is fine. They are a big conservation organization, and they were doing it long before it was fashionable. But as I say, I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I got it home, and went to take off the price tag, and I noticed the clothing line that manufactured it:



Now that's funny! The only problem is, now I'm not sure that I want to ditch it!

Day 712 -- Rowena

From the Columbia Land Trust web site, a photo of Oregon white oaks at Rowena.

This morning, I ran my last pace run before the marathon. Eight miles in just under eighty minutes. I wish that I had felt stronger at the end, considering that next week, I have to run over three times as far at that pace. But I think I'll be OK. I need to take it easy and make sure that I get my rest this week. Then just trust my training.

Day 711 -- Mosier

From Hugo90 over at Flikr, a picture of the Mosier, Oregon, post office.

I had a nice easy run this morning. I love running up by the golf course on a Saturday morning. There are no street lights, no house lights. This morning, there was not even a moon. Pure running.

By the way, 4.1 miles was my shortest run since July 31.

Day 709 and 710 -- Hood River

From ColumbiaRiverImages.com, a picture of Hood River, Oregon, with Mount Hood looming in the background. I guess you can see Mount Hood from all along this road that I'm running, so expect more Mount Hood pictured before I'm done.

I did manage to run yesterday and today. Yesterday, I got out and ran 6.4 miles at a little under 10 minute pace. It felt really good. So you'd think today, a measly 4 miler, would go pretty easily, but no. Today, I felt pretty leaden. Time for a day off.

Day 708 -- Dee

Dee, Oregon, is well south of here. But there's not much around where I am, now, so I'm going to dip down to visit Lost Lake. That's Mount Hood being reflected. Thanks to Joe and Nancy for the photo.

I took another day off yesterday. I've got this tapering thing down. This morning, I got out and ran an easy five miles. It was actually fairly warm, but windy.

Less than two weeks until the marathon. I'm starting to really get nervous about it. I hope that I am sufficiently prepared. I hope that I am mentally tough enough. I'm reading "50/50" by Dean Karnazes, about his feat of running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. On the one hand, that inspires me. On the other hand, it intimidates me. I'll never be Dean Karnazes. I guess I'll just have to be the best me that I can be.

Best. Cake. Ever.

Mrs. Jogger has outdone herself again.

Happy Birthday, Dear Jogger

Yes, today marks the end of my 44th year on this planet. I celebrated by taking the morning off and sleeping in. It would have been a bit more fun if I were home in my own bed, instead of the Motel 6 in Menomonie. Oh, well. I will be home this afternoon, where I expect to be greeted with hugs and kisses, at least from Mrs. Jogger. The Little Joggers may not have noticed that I've been gone.

I feel pretty good about turning 44. It definitely beats the alternative. Grandma Jogger sent me an e-card that says I'm still in the midst of my prime. And she should know, since she's been there for all 44 years.

Happy day, everyone. I'll see you out on the road early tomorrow morning.

Days 706 and 707 -- Beacon Rock

I'm currently running along the Oregon side of the Columbia River. I won't cross over into Washington for quite a while, yet, but I thought I'd look across to Beacon Rock. According to Felix Wong (from whom this photo is lifted), Beacon Rock is the second larges monolith in the world, after the Rock of Gibraltar. Since I won't be running to Gibraltar any time soon, this is likely the largest monolith you'll ever see me in front of.

The reason that I didn't post yesterday is that I am out of town. The Midwest History of Math Conference is in La Crosse this year. (I'm sure that you knew that. All the networks covered it.) So I drove up here to La Crosse yesterday morning, and spent all afternoon in talks. They were pretty good for the most part. The keynote speaker, after supper, was especially good, which is satisfying. I got back to the hotel late last night and popped into bed.

I got up early this morning and ran through the streets of La Crosse. It was nice, if a bit foggy. Since I didn't want to get lost, I didn't try to explore. I just ran down the major thoroughfare on which my hotel sits, then turned around and ran back up.

This morning, there are more history of math talks, then I'm driving even further up state to give a talk of my own at a meeting for young mathematicians. I was a member of this group when I was a young mathematician, and they have invited me back to give my sage advice. I'll have to develop some sage advice between now and then.

Day 705 -- Bridal Veil

Behind me, you can see Bridal Veil Falls, for which the town of Bridal Veil, Oregon, is named. According to the wikipedia page on Bridal Veil, it is a former logging company town, with practically nothing left. However, it is kept going by the postmark. Apparently, thousands of couples with way too much money on their hands send their wedding invitation to Bridal Veil to go out. (Falls picture from Richard and Cindy Krause at Flikr.)

I ran eight miles today. It was a pace run, but I didn't quite hold my pace. I don't think it was a physical problem so much as a problem of concentration. I kept thinking about classes and grading and what all I had to get done, and I'd find myself slacking off the pace a little.

It was cold this morning. There was frost on some of the cars, and even in places on the grass. I wore long sleeves but short pants. Pretty soon, it's going to be two layers. But not yet.

I got yer recovery right here (and TIaRT) -- Update

After two long days in a row, I couldn't get myself going this morning. I slept in, rather than running. Oh, well. I'm supposed to be tapering, right? I'm going to chalk up another life lesson learned from running: No matter how carefully you plan things out, sometimes, plans change.

Which brings me to this week's Take It and Run Thursday at Runners' Lounge. I've missed two TIaRTs in a row, but I'd better do this one, because I suggested it. The topic is "Life Lessons That I Have Learned From Running," and I got a million of em:

• Preparation is far more important than talent. Nobody is talented enough to run a marathon without preparation. Lots and lots of us prepare enough to run a marathon without noticeable talent.
  
• Five in the morning is much more fun than 10 in the evening.
  
• There is good pain, and bad pain. Embrace the good pain. Treat the bad pain.
  
• When the going gets really tough, concentrate on little, reachable goals.
  
• Do the important things first.
  

OK, I have five of 'em. Six if you could the one about plans changing. If I come up with some more, I'll add to the list.

Update: On this morning's run, I came up with two more:

• Pace yourself. Life is a long run.
  
• You can't go hard every day. Some days, you just have to take it easy.