I ran one mile this evening. One grueling mile. One long grueling mile! Well, it really wasn't that bad. I thought I could probably finish a mile in under 7 minutes. Totally unrealistic. I finished in 11:29. That is 11 minutes, not hours.

We packed up the kids and headed to the rec. center Friday evening for some walking and swimming. Karri and I walked a mile on the track while the girls rode in their chariots. Lauren and I lapped Karri and Jessalyn on lap three. While we were walking, Lauren asked a couple of times where we were going and why we kept walking around in circles. No amount of race car sounds and near crashes can entertain a 3 1/2 year old for fourteen laps. I began to wonder if gerbils care if they don't get anywhere but do get in shape? The rec. center had complimentary copies of a 'Pace Your Race Chart' from Runner's World. At my current pace, 11:29, I could finish 26.2 miles in just over five hours! However, my current condition would leave me flat on my face after mile three.

I received some running gifts for Christmas. My dad bought me some socks that whisk the sweat away from your skin. They are supposed to help reduce blisters. No blisters yet. Karri bought me The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. The book is based on a class taught at the University of Northern Iowa. The class was first taught in 1985 and over 200 students have taken the course and followed the training program outlined in the book. All but one student finished a marathon by the end of the course. I'm not sure what happened to the 'one student'. The book said there would be more about him later. The interested reader can read an excerpt from the book here.

Karri thinks I spend too much time trying to be witty while writing. Maybe so. I'm sure she would have written something like this...Ran a mile today. Not too cold outside. Husband freaking out, skeptical, yet supportive. Witty comes naturally for Karri since she was born in Whittier, California.

Karri found out that 40 percent of the 40,000 who register for the Chicago marathon are first time marathoners. You have to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which DW (Dear Wife) pointed out, is not a requirement for the Chicago marathon. An apparent plus for me.