The Tuesday Switch

I have fallen into a sweet deal. My wife's friend Sharon proposed she and I take turns watching each others kids while the other takes a run. I have the better end of this deal as she runs only a few miles at a time, but Tuesdays are my medium-long runs. When we first started the switch I was doing five, it's up to seven now, but will be up to 10 miles in the coming weeks. Because of this lopsided exchange of kids I no longer need to debate between a pre-dawn run or an after dinner run, neither of which has much up side for me. Late morning runs are my thing. Plenty of afternoon left for errands and just enough morning left for one more cup of coffee. This Tuesday Switch brings to light the difficulty of finding the time to run long. The problem with early morning runs is that it effects the twelve hours before. This is fine the night before a race, but the precious few hours after the toddler beds down need to be devoted to the DVR. House, 24, American Idol, and 30 Rock arne't going to watch themselves. Conversely, after dinner runs are heavy on the stomach. If you like second tastes of spaghetti try 3 mile hill repeats after eating. Besides, staring a ten mile run at 7 PM leaves little time to hang with my girls. So I have one of two long days figured out, thanks entirely to the thoughtfulness of some one else. I still have to play my truly long runs by ear.

Shout Out
Scheduling runs when the miles get long is taxing. My wife fully supports the running but the time takes a toll on the whole family. I'm running a 26.2 on June 26th. I started training March 1st, building base miles in January and February. The better part of the year given over to a painful, hopefully sub four hour run. It takes dedication to grind out miles and workouts over 17 weeks, and an equal amount of support. So to my girls at home that earnestly ask "how was the run?" to my running buddy Ken 'Waist Coat' Feringi, and to my fellow Tuesday Switcher, Sharon, I give a big shout out. Thanks for helping me across the finish. At last i hope to get across the finish line. THANKS! You da best.