After a two month hiatus in January/February, I’m back running … with a vengeance. Though not in peak shape, I had a decent race at the Indianapolis Mini Marathon in early May, finishing in the top 10% overall. Three weeks later, I finally got to run the Soldier Field 10, which 
finishes on the 50-yard line of the stadium. And in mid-June was the Run for the Zoo, which has also been on my to-do list for a while. In addition to having a blast running these events, the races also showed me that I’m pretty much at 3:30 marathon form heading into the Summer training season — so hopefully the result is a Fall marathon much faster than 3:30.
So what’s insane? My current training plan: Pfitzinger 18/70+. Note the “+” because that’s important. The 70+ plan tops out at 93 miles in a week, and has no rest days. Two-a-days are the norm, not the exception. The standard mid-week run is 15 miles, sometimes with a double the same day. Last September I bragged about running 10 days in a row … I’m currently in the midst of 20 day streak, with no end in sight. Its nuts, but I’m gonna give a shot.
The second addition to my mobile computing arsenal is the LG Voyager (a/k/a VX10000) mobile phone from Verizon. In addition to serving as my main phone, this baby has a list of features longer than a Chicago winter: touchscreen, dual displays, full qwerty keyboard, mp3 player, camera and video recorder, email, and a full html/css/dhtml compliant web browser. Oh, did I mention that its GPS enabled and does turn-by-turn directions (with voice) in addition to local point-of-interest searches? Oh, and did I mention that it plays live mobile TV, including CBS, NBC, ESPN and other channels?
Of all the features, I’ve been most impressed by the web browser on the Voyager. With Verizon’s 3G network, internet browsing is a pleasure, especially since I’m no longer limited to cell-phone or WAP specific web site. I’ve also contributed back to the Voyager community with some creative projects of my own, including a 
Its a Christmas miracle! I won the first place crown, bragging rights, and a few hundred bucks in one of my fantasy football leagues today. Thanks go out to my all-star lineup: Ladainian Tomlinson, Tony Romo (6th round pick), Reggie Wayne and Derrick Mason (12th round pick). Honorable mention to my walking-wounded RB committee of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Kenny Watson. A special nod goes to God for dumping a snowstorm onto New England last week so that the Tom Brady owner lost his only playoff game.
I haven’t bought any shiny new toys in a while, but I recently made two nice upgrades to my electronics roster. The first purchase was my Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop. I can’t really say that I needed a laptop computer, considering that I don’t travel nearly as much as in the past. But there have been plenty of times in recent years when it would have been nice to have real computer access while out of the house/office. So when I found a well-equipped Dell 14″ laptop for under $800, I had to pull the trigger.
I survived the 2007 Chicago Marathon. Yes, “survived” is the right word. The race started well, but eventually the wheels came off entirely. Facing 90° temperatures and 90% humidity (in October!?), all thoughts of PRs and BQs went out the window by mile 6. This was a day where avoiding the DNF was all that mattered. I managed an abject personal worst finishing time, and yet my relative finishing positions improved by hundreds of places over last year.
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PR, PR
I set two giant personal records last week, one for racing and one for training. First, in the Chicago Distance Classic half-marathon, I finally managed to get under the 1:40 hurdle and posted a respectable 1:37:22. While I was generally pleased with the result (a new PR by 3 minutes), to be honest the time left a bit of sour taste in my mouth. I honestly felt like I performed better (a feeling corroborated by my Garmin, which consistently showed me running faster than my final result time). Well, lo and behold, I was right. Turns out the course certifier screwed up, and we actually ran closer to 13.3 miles instead of 13.1. Not a huge difference, but on an adjusted basis my half-marathon time would be lowered to 1:36:08, equating to a 7:20/m mile pace. That’s a much better sign that I’m on target for my BQ attempt in October.
Then, in the week immediately following the race, I managed a new PR for my training miles: over
100 miles for the week. That’s the equivalent of running more than a half-marathon, every day, for a week. Crazy stuff. Admittedly, the legs were a bit cashed by the time I got done, and the final 24 miler was no picnic, but I’m thrilled to have posted a “century” of training miles; its a feat that few runners will ever manage.