Back at it...

Today, work was way icky. Not the work, or the people, but the day. It was a "reduction in force" day. Those days are never good. You spend the day wondering if it's going to be you, wondering who it is going to be, watching people you know have families and bills and mortgages leave out the door and not come back. It's stressful. Anyway you look at it, whether you are an employee, a boss, or a family member. Yuck. I, thankfully, seem to be 'safe' this round. Although, that's the other thing, you never feel 'safe'. Seniority, what you've done, who you are, none of those things matter in a RIF situation. And when you see people leave, you wonder why them ? We lost some good people today... I seem to have somewhat blind faith that the higher ups in our very large corporation have the business as their first interest and with the economy and uncertainty, are doing all that they can to keep everyone afloat. Sometimes, blind faith is OK. You keep your head down, keep doing your best work, keep a smile and keep going until someone tells you not too... So that's what I'll do.

OK... now that I have that out of the way :) Onward....

I got home today and knew I had to throw on the Brooks and head to the treadmill. Dreading it.... I haven't 'ran' in a bit... and again, I can come up with every excuse possible. But that's just not gonna cut it with 18 days left until a half marathon.

iPod, water, and off I went. I did way better than I thought. I got 3.08 miles down in 32 minutes. That's good for me ! I'll take it. No toe pain, no shin pain, but the damn pirformis is NOT happy. This is a good thing though... I've learned that before I run I need to take some ibuprofen proactively and that should help. Good lesson ! And I'll carry some with me on race day. I'm proud that I figured that out :) And I also learned, that if I can run 3...I sure as HELL CAN RUN 13.1 !!!! No worries.

I do have to share a great story with you. This guy, David Goggins, jumped from a helicopter at the start of this years Ironman in Kona. He's amazing. And he's not only amazing for the athletic things he does, but for WHY he does them. And why do I admire him from afar so much ??? Because, bless him.... for being an amazing runner, HE DOESN'T LIKE TO RUN !!!! Love that ! Keeps me motivated to do bigger and better things. Doesn't mean I have to LOVE them, means I have to at least TRY !! Amazing ! The article below is from this months Runners World (yes... I admit... I have a subscription and carried David to Mexico with me !!)

THE WARRIOR: DAVID GOGGINS

A Navy SEAL pushes himself to maniacal lengths to raise money for veterans' families.

By Peter Flax

Photographs by Evan Hurd

From the December 2008 issue of Runner's World

David Goggins lives in a world where there is no easy button. This is a man who says he "hates" running—but then wakes up to bang out a marathon before sunrise. The 33-year-old from Chula Vista, California, has recast himself as an elite ultramarathoner, a philanthropic machine, and an accidental role model by pursuing a running life that's truly unrelenting.



The transformation began in 2005. He was a 280-pound powerlifter who never ran more than 20 minutes, a Navy SEAL finishing a nasty tour in Iraq. But after losing some buddies in a "mission gone bad" in Afghanistan, Goggins vowed to help the families that now lacked a father and a husband. Though he knew he wanted to raise money, he also knew he wasn't a bake-sale kind of guy. "So I went online," he says, "and Googled the 10 hardest things to do in the world."

That's when he discovered the Badwater Ultramarathon—the legendary 135-mile race from the floor of Death Valley to Whitney Portal. He called race director Chris Kostman to see if he could get in. Kostman asked Goggins how many 100-milers he'd run. None. How many marathons? None. Kostman told him to get some ultramarathoning experience if he wanted to run Badwater.

Days later, he entered a 24-hour race in San Diego. The ordeal left him with broken metatarsals in both feet and a case of kidney failure, but he did crank out 100 miles in less than 19 hours. Ten days later, he ran the Las Vegas Marathon in 3:08. And for ample measure, he entered the H.U.R.T. 100-Mile Endurance Run, one of the hardest ultras in the world. Goggins finished ninth. All this was in the span of two months.

In July 2006, with 50 pounds off his linebacker frame, Goggins lined up in Badwater with 84 other entrants, and finished fifth. Then he took second at the 2006 Ultraman World Championships (a double Ironman triathlon held over three days), though he didn't yet own a bike. He returned to Badwater in 2007 and came in third. He won the Ultra Centric 48-hour run (covering 203 miles), and won the 2008 McNaughton 150-miler by three hours. "When I get to mile 75 of a 150-mile race and I'm completely trashed—that's the only way I can see what David Goggins is all about," he says.

These existential quests unfold daily. Goggins often covers 15 or 20 miles before breakfast and bikes 50 miles round-trip to his Navy job. He swims, lifts, and goes "long" on weekends. "Other than being crazy, David's just self-motivated," says his wife, Aleeza. "I'm certain that he hasn't taken a day off in three years."

His exploits have raised more than eyebrows. In three years, Goggins has netted $200,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which gives full college grants to children of Special Ops personnel killed in the line of fire. He also helps nonprofits that build handicap-accessible homes for disabled vets. "I keep thinking that there's more I can do," he says. "I guess I'm pretty hard on myself."

Uh, yeah. But what makes Goggins push himself so relentlessly? For sure, he's driven by his charitable mission, his infinite discipline, his superhuman gift to endure. And yet there is more.

"I'm different than most people," he says. "When I cross the finish line of a big race, I see that people are ecstatic, but I'm thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow. It's as if my journey is everlasting and there is no finish line."