I will be out of town, but would still like to use the blog in case others are planning a run. I put down an 8:00 a.m. start, but feel free to set up any run that works for you.
Kinnie has been swimming with the Master's Swim program on Wednesdays at lunch. Mike (instructor) informed her that he was having two meetings on Friday, January 5th, at 12:00 noon and 6:00pm. These meetings are to discuss interest in the program for the up-coming months and times in which people would be most available to attend.
Are you ready for the Challenge? Patti forwarded this to me last week, and it looked like too much fun not to share. 
In 2004, NC State Sophomore Chris McCoy came up with a challenge. He would gather some friends at the NC State bell tower and begin a run toward downtown Raleigh. His jog would take him two miles downhill to the Raleigh Krispy Kreme bakery. There they would each consume 1 dozen of the legendary hot glazed doughnuts. The group would then run back to the bell tower to finish the race.
Scott, Arthur and I found an outstanding place to run last weekend. We parked at the Food Lion on 301 by Fords Colony. We ran from the parking lot into Fords Colony. We gave the guard a friendly wave on the way by, and he waved back. Once you have run for about eight to 10 minutes, you will come to two golf holes; one our your right, and one on your left. The course is far from complete, but it has sand traps, greens, spots for tee boxes, and the fairways are taking shape. Most importantly, they have paved (not cement) cart paths!
We took the hole on the right first, so we could run the course tee-to-green. At the end of the hole however it became swamp land, and the path ended. We turned around and went back the other way. By now we were about 16 minutes into the run. Once we crossed over the road, and got back on the cart path, we ran for miles on the paths. It was quiet and beautiful. Every step was paved. Running the holes in reverse, we ran back to where the driving range and club house will be, and then turned around and ran back again (the swamp land prevents from making a complete loop right now). By the time got back to the car it had been and hour and 40 minutes.Hope everyone had a great holiday! Keep up the running!
There have been several team members who are discussing doing the White Lake Triathlon this coming May. The race as you would guess is located in White Lake, North Carolina and is part of the North Carolina Triathlon series. There is a Half Iron Man, and also a Sprint Triathlon. The Half is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. The Sprint is a 750 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and a 5k run. 
know many of you will have the same reaction that I had. . . "I can't do a triathlon!" Well, if I asked many of you about doing a marathon at this time last year, you would have said "I can't do a marathon", but you did! So don't say no too quickly. Click on the links and check it out. If you start getting butterflies in your stomach, that is a sign you should do it. I plan to run Saturday at 2:00 p.m. with Scott Wingfield. I am still trying to confirm with him, but I would like to run near Ford's Colony and get on the cart paths of the unopened course. For those that are interested in still running in the morning you can still meet at 8:00 a.m. Use the comment link below to indicate if you plan on running. Be sure to say which time.I have my dreaded 20 mile run this weekend. I will probably run from my house to the Harris Teeter and meet whoever is running at 8:30 a.m. That way I can have a few miles under my belt early. If you want to run, but would prefer to run somewhere else, I am open to any suggestions. I could actually use a change of scenery, but am most interested in just having someone to run with. Respond with comments and let everyone know how far you plan to run. Feel free to recommend a different starting place or route.
Obviously, most of you reading the blog are runners, so you may need to forward this link to your non-running spouse or friends. If you have been enjoying your running you also might enjoy reading about how to improve or just make it a better experience. There are countless running books available for purchase, but here are three that never fail to receive high marks. You can look at the reviews on Amazon and see for yourself. 
The first book is Advanced Marathoning, by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas. The title might scare you off, but this book is not reserved just for fast or excessively experienced runners. It is designed for those who would like a solid and detailed plan to help them run their fastest marathon. A friend recommended this book to me, and the Amazon feedback echo's his high praise. As far as marathon training goes, this is suppose to be one of the best available.
The second book which also gets great feedback is The Complete Book of Running for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Training, Nutrition, Injury Prevention and Much More, by Claire Kowalchik. If the title is any indication, this book is long (only kidding). I do not know as much about this book, but it is supposed to be an outstanding resource. 39 customer reviews give it an average of a 5-star rating.
One last book which I honestly know nothing about is The Non-Runners Marathon Trainer, by David A. Whitsett, Tanjala Jo Kole, anf Forrest A Dolgener. So why did I put this on the list? If you are like me you really enjoy running, and probably have someone you would like to encourage to do the same. This book is a great tool to help get a friend off the couch and on the roads. It has more reviews then any other marathon book I looked up, and still rates 5-stars.
If you have ever wanted to do a massive race, this is one of the closest ones you can find to Rocky Mount. 24,000 people will enter the race which opens registration the day after Christmas. The race is of the the largest 10ks in the country, and attracts some of the worlds greatest runners.I will be running 12 miles this weekend. Scott Wingfield is planning to run 11. We can create any route that will encourage others to join us. I plan to start at 8:30 to allow things to warm up a bit, and to get some extra sleep and try to avoid any bad feelings from Friday night. Respond with comments and let everyone know how far you plan to run.
