Momentum

For me, hitting the town on the weekend has always been about guzzling Gatorade instead of foo-foo drinks, pedaling bikes instead of pursuing parties, running long mileage instead of chasing trouble. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone's choice of weekend activities, but for me it's an opportunity to tack on even longer mileage than I do during the week.

Typically, I'm up with the sun so my workouts never interfere with family activities. Saturday is for long morning miles on the bike; Sunday, it's logging long distance on the run. Both courses take me through diversified settings within the city, from fountain-filled parks to the skyscrapers of the urban jungle.

Along the way, I come across an interesting selection of people and personalities. The convenience store lady who smiles instead of grimacing when I hand her wadded-up, sweaty-wet dollar bills for a bottle of water. The street corner newspaperman who always shouts, "You go, boy", as I stride or roll past him. The bakery shop owner who always nods a friendly hello while sweeping the sidewalk in front of his store. These are my people - and this is my club. (And for all of you who refuse to sit near me on the MetroLink train on my way home after my 18-mile run across the river into Illinois, that's okay, I understand. You're still my people, too.)



This feeling of unspoken camaraderie extends from the training grounds to the race course, as well. As I've gotten older, I've found that endurance racing is less about competition - less about beating the other guy. When you are in a pack of runners at Mile 22 of a big race, it's amazing the power of momentum - the feeling that we are all moving in the same direction toward a common goal and can't or won't be stopped. It's an almost cleansing, spiritual feeling that is therapeutic for the mind, body and soul. Like my wife, Jackie, always says, "Don't be against something - be FOR something else."

This year, I'm striving to take that spiritual feeling to a higher level. On November 4th, for my 22nd marathon, I'm running as an official teammate of Lance Armstrong as one of 100 LiveStrong Army Runners in the New York City Marathon. We'll be racing through the five boroughs of New York City with 40,000 other runners, encouraging everyone to LiveStrong. If you would like to be a part of this positive momentum, you can visit my personal web page for more information at https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=158934&supid=77548719 - and be sure to sign the guest blog so I can personally thank you!

Talk to you soon. Until then pick up the pace and run your own race.

- Jeff