2 weeks out

Well I am less than 2 weeks out from the Derby Marathon.  I am not even remotely close to being ready for a marathon.  My knees are still bothering me and I haven't been able to get much training in lately.  About 3 weeks ago I wrote an email to the event organizers about switching to the mini-marathon.  After not hearing back from them, I wrote again this week.  I still haven't heard anything from them.  My friend Monica, who knows the organizers, says that they aren't very good at communication and I'm probably going to be stuck running the full.  If that's the case, screw it, I'll run the full and just see what happens.  I remember a few years ago my buddy Brad Lawlor and I signed up to run the Quad City Half Marathon.  Well, I signed up for it, and he signed up for the full.  He didn't really train much at all, went out and completed 16 miles.  Couldn't complete the whole thing but still made 16 with minimal training.  He's a beast and I hate him.  So maybe that will happen with me this year and maybe I'll finish.  We'll see.  As you can see, I'm not feeling very confident but I am still showing up, still getting my training in when I can, and still going to give this race everything I have. 

On another note, I worked out with my ninja friend Justin this week.  We have a standing agreement, I train him with strength and conditioning and he trains me with MMA.  He's a multiple black belt in several disciplines and is pretty good and allowing me to feel like I know what I'm doing when I really don't.  We do a lot of jujitsu, which I'm somewhat comfortable with because I used to wrestle when I was a youngster.  There are obviously some big differences between the two but there are also a lot of similarities.  But we have fun and he allows me to punch him in the face every now and then.  I don't allow him to do the same but for some reason his fist always finds it's way to some part of my head.  Needless to say a good time is had by all. 

I guess the purpose of this entry is to remind myself to keep showing up and keep trying new things.  While I might not finish the full marathon, I'm going to keep pushing forward and do the best I can.  And while I will never find myself inside the cage, I'm going to keep trying new things and learn new ways to be active through martial arts.  It's fun, high energy, and slightly liberating when you get punched.  Good stuff.  If you get a chance, head out to some MMA studio near you and get a couple of lessons.  It's definitely worth it.