Labor Day

Labor Day, for me, was very laborious. I work with the youth organization at church, and we had a service project on the nearby Indian reservation helping clear out tons of weeds from someone's backyard. We had about 5 young men and a few other leaders helping out. We had a good time and got tons done.

In the last couple weeks we've had several storms that have brought a lot of rainfall, which has brought about tons of our own weeds. So when I got home this morning, I headed out to make a dent in our backyard. After a few minutes, I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was working by myself compared to working with the young men. I decided to go back in and grab the iPod to keep me company. That definitely helped make the job easier and the time pass a little more quickly. It also got me thinking about running (even though I don't run with my iPod too often), and, as sick as this sounds, looking forward to doing long runs again. I'm planning for a marathon in early January, and will start training for it next week. It'll be nice to have some different scenery besides the football field and bleachers at the track. I'm looking forward to running up and down South Mountain, along the canals, and on the streets again. Not doing speedwork 3 times a week, and running at an easier pace.

I've really enjoyed training for the mile, but my preferred distance is the marathon. I have grown to love going to the track, something I'd only rarely done in my training for any of my previous races. I'll definitely be returning as I train for the marathon, and hopefully, I'll see some benefits from all the speedwork I've done this summer.