Creation of a Blog

The creation of a blog has been with me ever since I encountered Mark Cuban's weblog http://www.blogmaverick.com on the Internet. (Mr. Cuban is one of the most interesting and fascinating modern-day geniuses that I have encountered in this lifetime). Anyhow, so why a personal blog?

Simple: a creative outlest was needed. Often times I find myself needing to express thoughts, emotions, feelings that are craving to be released and are most often times quelched in my mind. So this blog will serve as my creative outlet, but it will primarily focus on the beautiful sport of running.

Enjoy the ride and provide me with feedback and we will see where this trail take us...


USATF 10K Road Championships
I will be travelling to Moblie, Alabama, on November 5th to compete in the USATF 10K Road Championships on November 6th. I am flying into New Orleans and driving the remaining 2 hours to Mobile where I will pick up my packet and meet my little brother and his Seminole teammates for dinner.

I am very fit for this race and am looking to completely demolish my official Road 10K PR of 32:01 from the 2002 Bayou City Classic in Houston. 30:21 is fresh in my mind because that is the time that the great Paula Radcliffe ran in Puerto Rico prior to her 2:15:25 World Record Marathon at London in 2003.

It is interesting because this race has produced one of my only dreams about running that I can vividly remember. This dream was brought on, in my opinion, by the fact that I have attempted to contact the Race Director in hopes of acquiring a seeded bib number so I can line up in the front and not have to fight the masses. This is my dream:

I'm in search of a porta-potty at the Champioship race, but they are all either broken or there is no toilet paper. I ask someone where can I find a restroom and am told that there is one in the hospitality suite for the elites. I'm in a long sleeve and shorts and I walk into the suite and I believe it's Eric Polonski sitting there as the Elite Athlete Coordinator. Among him are these typical looking American distance runners, all looking the same, either wearing royal blue or yellow warmups, sitting and eating. I ask to use the bathroom and Polonski says it's only for invited runners. I tell him, "I'm invited!" He says, "sure you are" (sarcasitcally) and does not allow me to use the bathroom. I then go off on him about how about support the other fellow American distance runners and that's what's wrong with the sport! Of course by now I have caused a scene and everyone is looking over, but I am upset and I awake from my dream...

My best Freudian dream interpretation: I believe this dream displays the fact that I think that I believe I do not belong with the best and that I still need to prove myself on the US racing scene. Anyone out there have a better thought?

I promise to race to my utmost potential and it is going to hurt, but it will all be worth it. I will have a race summary and thoughts when I return. In the meantime, it is my wife's 26th birthday and we have a dinner date tomorrow night and I need to surprise her with her gift...

New York City Marathon

Okay, I have to give my thoughts on the New York City Marathon before it happens. This race is just absolutely stacked, especially on the Men's side. Probably the biggest news is Bob Kennedy making his marathon debut. Heck, he's been getting more headlines than Athen's Olympic Marathon Silver Medallist, American Meb Keflezighi. Even with the "77" days in between marathons, I still think Keflezighi is the favorite. However, NYC is a difficult course (Chris Preston will let me know how difficult as he tries to approach 3:30:00) and I expect perhaps one of the unheralded Kenyans to take the win. It won't be Elly Rono, but it might be Boston Marathon champ, Timothy Cherigat or John Yuda (Tanzania). Regardless, the race is wide open and I'll go out on a limb here and say Bob Kennedy is humbled to a 2:14:29 for his debut marathon, which will be great.

So how about the women? Amazingly, Paula Radcliffe has entered. I never thought I'd see the day where the world record holder would run New York. What is this, the 1980's? Imagine Khalid Khannouchi runing NYC or Boston? Just won't happen. These specialists run for time, not honor. Anyway, what we have is Round 2 of Deena Kastor, the American Bronze Medallist at the Athens Marathon, versus the World Record Holder Radcliffe. But we cannot overlook Margaret Okayo, the defending champ and course record holder in 2:22:31. Okayo dropped out in Athens (on a course that I thought would suit her running ability), but look for her to rebound strongly on the familiar streets of New York. However, perhaps my darkhorse favorite is Lornah Kiplagat of Denmark (Kenya). Many people forget that it was Kiplagat who started the unravelling of Paula Radcliffe by dismantling Radcliffe at the World's Best 10K earlier in the year. Kiplagat won 30:41 to 30:45, in a very rare defeat of the Englishwoman. Once again, I'll extend my arm and say Radcliffe wins in 2:20:38. How's that for a biscuit?

All in all, a very exciting week for road racing in America. Hopefully, the race will be broadcast live in the US, but that is very doubtful. I look forward to the results and the race being run...