So what's all the fuss about running?

Like many guys who get married, it's easy to become less active over time and less disciplined about what we put in our bodies. As my friend, John Marcheschi, said recently, it's easy to "morph a bit" after college.

About three years ago, I decided to make better choices and get more active. Mirrors don't lie, ya know? So I began to run more regularly. Last year, I took the plunge and ran two half marathons, both in 2 hours, 6 minutes. My mom noted this was so unlike me, but she was proud of the effort and discipline. Dori was a huge support during training, as were many friends.

I was happy to finish those races but displeased with my times. This year, I trained again for a better race, but woke up feeling lousy the morning of the Country Music Marathon. I finished in 2:09. I knew at Mile Two I had issues. I finished only because I wanted to honor my friend, Scott McConnell, who was in the middle of Round Two with cancer. He's in remission, BTW.

I always chill out in the summers because of the heat, but for some odd reason (maybe disgust about three mediocre races), I decided to train this summer for the Virginia Beach Half Marathon on Sept. 2. I used to live in Virginia Beach as a Navy lieutenant and have been working over my buddy and old shipmate, Dave Baum, to join me. The weekend I had planned was really meant for racing and then fun and R&R. I especially love Harpoon Larry's bar and seafood joint (http://www.harpoonlarryskillerseafood.com/) and still plan to swing by Sunday night after the race.

But as you know, there's been a change in plans. This race isn't about me or R&R anymore. Dori was diagnosed with leukemia Tuesday, June 19. After we heard this news and cried ourselves silly, Dori said she remembered we received a solicitation in the mail to help raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at Virginia through Team in Training. As I've shared before, I don't believe in coincidences.

So I'm running for Dori now, not me. Thanks to family pitching in last week, I was able to train four days. It was the only time all week I had to myself. Here's last week's training recap, which I'll be posting mostly as a personal log but also for fellow runners who are interested (quite a few of us are kind of goofy about miles, times, pace and conditions).

Monday - 5.5 miles, 46:10, 8:23 pace, 83 degrees, mixed to hilly
Wednesday - 6.5 miles, 1:02:00, 9:32 pace, 87 degrees (midday), mixed
Saturday - 8.0 miles, 1:16:50, 9:36 pace, 77 degrees, hilly
Sunday - 4.35 miles, 36:30, 8:23 pace, 82 degrees, mixed to flat

Total miles: 24.35 miles