Get a Grip, Beauchamp

One of the best book series I've ever read are the Outlander books. I could easily dedicate a daily blog to the fabulous characters, crazy plot twists and amazing moments of tender love and steamy passion that fill the pages of these books. I’ve read and reread them and have passed them on to my friends the way a heroin dealer distributes their goods. Everyone who cracks open book one becomes a hopeless addict.

Love, medieval medicine and time travel are some of the main themes of these books. War is another important topic and a lot of time is spent on what it’s like to prepare for battle. The main character (Jamie) has gone off to battle numerous times. Before he goes, if at all possible, he goes to confession.

(He also ravishes his wife Claire but those details are for another day.)

The confession part is critical so that Jamie can go into battle with no remorse, no second thoughts and knowing that his soul is ready for whatever happens next.

I’m going into battle in a few days. The battle is going to be long and it’s going to be hard. I have every confidence that I’m going to survive but there will be moments when I will surely have my doubts.

So it’s confession time. Time to clear my conscience and bare my soul.

I am not wearing my Vibrams. At all. I love them and I wore them for several weeks. I was almost ready to try running in them. I really want to run in them and I really believe that they will help me get stronger. But my shins were getting so bad that I got scared and stopped wearing them completely. My shins got better. Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe they were the cause of the problem. I’m too scared to find out right now so I’ve packed them away in my closet – to be taken out once the race is done and the pressure’s off.

I’m not running five days per week. That was one of the goals that I set back in April – to work up to five runs per week. I’m stopping at four runs and replacing the fifth with a 30-40k bike ride. I just can’t do five – it’s too exhausting and it hurts too much. I just don’t feel like I have it in me to give more than that.

I’ve been running faster than I ever have before. Not record breaking fast but it seems like my body and I have finally figured out how to get out of the pace rut we’ve been in for the past two years. I like the little bit of extra speed I have now. But I have to be careful not to get too cocky. It’s a pace I can now sustain for 30 minutes easily. Sixty minutes is a challenge and anything beyond that is really very hard. I’m confessing to the sin of pride. Now that I’m getting faster I don’t want to have to slow down for the longer runs even though I know I have to. Damn it!

Thank you for hearing my confession.

Now it’s time to get ready for battle.