Dr. G's Run Blog

Committed with 16 Weeks to Train

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:16:15 PST

OK. I just committed myself. I've signed up for the 2009 Country Music Marathon. I now have sixteen weeks to train--which may sound like a long, long time but, from past experience, those weeks invariably fly by and the need for significant milage always seems to sneak up on me.

Run Early

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:17:26 PST

�When you have a packed schedule, run as early in the morning as you can. Later you won�t find time. Besides, it�s a nice way to wake up.� --Joan Benoit Samuelson

The GIGO Principle

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:20:07 PST

�You only get out of running what you put into it--no pain no gain.�
--George Sheehan

Going Long

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:20:29 PST

�Not all runners can go faster, but everyone can run longer. It�s pacing, patience, and persistence, more than talent, that allows you to cover longer distances.� --Joe Henderson

Planning for 2009

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:20:49 PST

�Smart goals are specific, measurable, realistic, written out, and should have a deadline or a timeframe.� --David Yukelson

More St. Jude Pix

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:37:42 PST

Recovery Week

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:26:43 PST

It is cold, snowy, and blustery in Middle Tennessee this week. Perfect weather for a recovery week. I�ll start the training regimen for my next marathon sometime next week. But quite frankly, I already miss my runs�bad!

Memphis Official Results

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:27:32 PST

The official results of the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis have been released. I ran it in 3:50.52 for an average pace of 8:49 per mile. The Boston qualifying time for my age group is 3:45.59. So, that means that I missed the cut off by just 5 minutes! I had no idea I was that close.

Scenes from the St. Jude Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:54:50 PST

Ready or Not

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:37:12 PST

I've got one more long run to go before I start my taper for the marathon in two weeks. I'm not in nearly the shape I need to be to run 26.2. But, running for the St. Jude Children's Hospital always makes me want to strive for more than what I think I am capable of doing. So, I'm going long--ready or not.

Keeping Running in Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:29:02 PST

In just two weeks I will be running the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis. Obviously, that has meant that I have tried to ramp up my training appropriately--and "appropriately" for a marathon means a whole lot of running and a whole lot of time. And that necessarily presents a whole raft of problems.

A running friend wrote me recently to express his own concerns about time management, stewardship of calling, and the very real threat of self-absorption during the months of training leading up to any big race. He said, "My family has been amazingly supportive, but I'm bothered by the fact that when I'm marathon training I spend alot of time thinking about me! My runs, my injuries, my times, blah, blah, blah."

How do we--indeed, how can we--balance our lives so that even good things, like running, do not come to dominate us and our families?

This is actually something I've thought about a great deal. Though I certainly have not been able to gain any degree of mastery yet, I have done several things to help me balance my priorities:

1. I quit worrying about times a couple of years ago. I run for fun. Certainly, I have more fun the better I do--but, I am at the age and stage where it's all a matter of diminishing returns anyway. So, I figure I have much better things to talk about and think about than my times.

2. I have a prayer strategy for every race and even most training runs. I stick to the strategy doggedly.

3. I try my best to memorize Scripture as I run.

4. I stopped using an iPod for most of my runs--and I no longer use a Nike+, a Garmin Forerunner, or even a pedometer as I once did.

5. I always dedicate every marathon and half marathon to someone in need--I particularly love running to raise funds for one or another of the causes I care about most.

6. I always allow the important stuff in life to interrupt my training schedule--or even my racing schedule. I try to never let running take over my life. And I always try to hold my running loosely.

Running is healthy. It is a great stress reliever. I love meeting the non-Christians among my fellow runners because they are often the only people I ever meet who don't know what I do vocationally. And I enjoy the whole culture of running. So, needless to say, I want to be able to continue to run as long as I am physically able. But, I also want to make sure that running stays in its place and does not ever intrude upon my family, my church, or my calling.

Half Marathon Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:51:03 PDT

My training for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon has been a bit hit-and-miss. But now with just five weeks to go, it is put up or shut up time. So, I will run in the Team Nashville Half in the morning to measure just where I am. It should be fun--the weather is great, the course is familiar, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. So, no pressure. Just a good morning run and a fine test of where my fitness now stands.

By the Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:22:52 PDT

�It�s like a Cecil B. DeMille movie, because it�s on such a huge, epic scale,� says Alberto Salazar, who won the New York City Marathon three years in a row during the 1980s. The 40,000 registered runners were selected from more than 100,000 applicants for the 38th running of the 26.2 mile event through each of the city's boroughs this Sunday. They will huddle together at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island several hours ahead of the start. There, they will spend a good deal of their time standing in line at the 1,515 portable toilets. Finally, at 9:40 twin 75-millimeter howitzers will announce the official wave start of this, the world�s largest and most extravagant ceremony of endurance. More than half of the runners will have come from overseas. By the end of the weekend, the city will have raked in an estimated $200 million. And the runners will have, as marathon writer Liz Robbins says, �outrun their demons and their diagnoses� on a �day full of epiphanies.�

The Big Get Bigger

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:35:00 PDT

Monday Night: Code Blue

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:36:26 PDT

Frodo's Song

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:42:03 PDT

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can.

Pursuing it with weary feet
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.

New Marathon World Record

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:20:57 PDT

Haile Gebselassie set his 26th career world record in the Berlin Marathon this weekend. The Ethiopian legend thus became the first man to run under 2:04 over the 26.2 mile distance. And the 35-year old did it while recovering from a calf injury.

Mind and Matter

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:32:44 PDT

�Run hard, be strong, think big!� Percy Cerutty

�The body does not want you to do this. You must handle the pain with strategy... It is not age; It is not diet; It is the will to succeed.� Jacqueline Gareau

�The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.� Juma Ikangaa

St. Jude Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 10:14:00 PDT

In just ten weeks, I will be attempting my seventh full marathon--once again, in beautiful Memphis Tennessee. And again, I will be attempting to raise support for the remarkable work of St. Jude Children's Hospital. If you would like to help me meet my goal of raising $1000 for cancer research and patient treatment, please visit my St. Jude Sponsor Site

Autumn: A Poem

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:28:57 PDT

Falling leaves
Hide the path
So quietly. �John Bailey

Obesity: A Poem

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:58:15 PDT

We weigh too much.
Way too much. �Bob McKenty

Back for More?

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:49:42 PDT

Beaten Again!

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:28:35 PDT

I do understand that the guy in the giant hot dog suit is in his twenties. I'm in my fifties. He's a nationally ranked triathlete. I'm, umm, not. Still. He's in a massive foam and felt HOT DOG SUIT. I'm not being realistic, but I still HATE being beaten by the hot dog!

Other than that though, the Franklin Classic was great this morning--more than 1000 runners right in downtown (just a block from Parish) having lots of fun and raising support for the vital work of Mercy Children's Clinic.

Beating the Hot Dog

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:55:59 PDT

I'll be running in the Franklin Classic tomorrow at 7 AM. I'm not really in race shape, so my plan is just to have a little fun. But, it really is not fun to be beaten by the Sonic Hot Dog! So, I'm going to do my best to get in just ahead of him!

If Only

noreply@blogger.com (George Grant) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:55:32 PDT

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