You know how sometimes you have to plunge yourself into a commitment before you have a chance to think about it too much? And then tell everybody about it before you change your mind? And then it's too late and you're irrevocably committed? Oh mon dieu, what have I done?!
I have just signed up to run with Dean Karzanes on the 49th of his 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in 50 states - I plan to run with him in New Jersey on 4th November. His website assures me that he will be aiming for a finishing time of 4:30 to 5:00. Given that my PB was 3:19, on the face of it that doesn't sound too challenging.
The big difference is; this time I am giving myself less than 3 months to prepare. I've done two marathons before - New York in 1998 and London in 2001 - but both times I gave myself at least 6 months to get ready. I have rarely felt as unfit and overweight as I do now. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?
Or maybe this is just exactly what I need to get me back on the dietary straight and narrow, and to give a much-needed fillip to my training regime.
It's going to be tough. But if Dean can do 50 marathons in 50 days, a total of 1,310 miles, surely I can find it in myself to trot out a teensy-weensy little 26.2...
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This is what I got up to this weekend - a weekend of jazz, good food, good wine and good fun in the Napa Valley north of San Francisco. We went to the Dave Brubeck concert at the Robert Mondavi vineyard. Mr Brubeck is 84 years young, and still going strong.
At the opposite end of the age spectrum, the talented young pianist featured in the video - just 19 years old - is Troika Hanna from the Bahamas. As the manager in the resort said to him after our impromptu concert in the lobby: 'Your future is bright, and your spirit is strong.' Definitely a name to watch out for in the future.
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Apologies for radio silence. I can't even blame it on a defective satellite phone this time. Truth is, the problems with my laptop (still ongoing) had me so bummed (I'm learning to speak Californian, note) that I couldn't find the motivation to blog. This is a shame, as a lot of really good stuff has been happening. I intend to make up the backlog and bring you up to date, but right now I don't have time - I'm dashing out to see 'An Inconvenient Truth'. So, to keep you entertained in the meantime, here is a story to amaze and inspire...
Dean Karnazes is going to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Read more here.
I'm reading his autobiography, Ultra Marathon Man at the moment - I got it for free from the Timex stand at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City at the weekend (of which more later). His feats are incredible. You have to be impressed with a man who can eat a large Round Table pizza (serves 5) plus a whole cheesecake without breaking stride. Ew.
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Am I the only one having difficulty imagining this combination of characters having a chinwag round a table? In July Tony Blair made his first visit to San Francisco as prime minister. Richard Branson and others joined him and Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger for a meeting on global warming.
Apparently "They agreed to collaborate on research into cleaner-burning fuels and technologies, and look into the possibility of setting up a system whereby polluters could buy and sell the right to emit greenhouse gases. The idea is to use market forces and market incentives to curb pollution."
I haven't read such a weaselly 'statement' of weak intentions since I read Starbucks' commitment to fair trade coffee.
I believe that Blair, Schwarzenegger et al absolutely meant it when they said it, and that their intentions are good. But the road to a global-warming hell is paved with good intentions.
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