now that I see a certain local shoe store is holding their own C25K and calling it that...sheesh! They already had a program that was very similar to mine but apparently it wasn't doing all that well. I guess I just have to 'take it' because in all honesty there are several 'Couch to 5K's' around the country - thus Run University! You'd think though they'd have the balls to create their own identity rather than leech off an established program. News flash - You can call it the "Guarantee You'll Lose 60 pounds and Be Built Like a Brick Oven and Run 4 Minute Miles Program" but ultimately you have to love the beginning runner...love them. Some of them are very high maintenance (not any of you, though) and some are, welll shall we say - uh, kinda 'thick'. However they all grow as runners and eventually get seperated into 2 distinctly different kind of runners...Left Brained Runners and Right Brained Runners...yeah - Left Brain Runners are almost either already members of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel or will be...The Garmanites! It was thought they were wiped out at the crossing of the Red Sea when Moses had said it was a 2 Mile Run and their Garmins only showed 1.88. So they ran in small circles with their left arm held high to catch the satellite signal for ,12 miles during which time Moses and the Right Brained people went on to Starbucks. Apparently a few few survived and they've procreated through out the running world. Their sole purpose is to walk up to race directers and show them that though their race said 6.2 miles the Garminites 'ran' 6.35 and what are they gonna do about it?!? They can be identified by their leftward lean and left arm nearly dragging the ground when they run/walk due to the 4 pound satellite dish on their wrist or by seeing them run in said same small circle arm in air (as if THAT helps) getting that last .0001 mile so that they ran exactly 10 miles. At times when they receive the dreaded 'Lost Signal' notice on their flat screen arm screen they immediately tap the watch twice and raise the arm hihg in tribute/pleading to the god Garmia. Garmia is apparently a god...not THE God, but a god and he is NEVER wrong! There's also the Any Port in A Storm LB Runner who will eschew a gas station/porta potty then 50 feet down road duck behind a tree, but not quite all the way behind and do their imitation of a Roman fountain. Unless said RB is female in which case they select bushes only 12" off the ground (assuming they can see but can't be seen as if peeing makes one invisible...or dumpsters (the name being a coincidence? I think not!). Other LB runners - The 'Who is Al Roker' Runner...Who not only runs in impossible weather but calls you and e-mails you and posts it on FB 87 times...'comment, coment'.  comment' "Naw, I never check the weather, who's Stephanie Walker, what's  an Al Roker?"..."Whaddaya mean it's -20 windchill and lightning? I was out there, it was fine!" As if them being out there made it okay for sane runners. Speaking of, didn't Willard Scott the guy who always interviewed those 100 year old women just turn 100? And why aren't there any 100 year old men? The LB Lysol Runner - "Yeah, I only wash my clothes after every 3rd run. You know if wash 'em too often the elastic stretches out...really!" Yep, they are out there and as we speak their privates are getting mildewy...slowly, from their 'washed every 3rd run' running clothes. LB Goodyear Runners - "I have 647.225 miles on my shoes and they're good for at least another 200 miles. Do you have any Advil? My knees are killing me." I'm sure there are more and Right Brain runners can be just as bad. I've had them all in my groups....except the Lysol Runners. They get re-educated quickly or dropped from the list quickly. Maybe the Lysol Runners will all sign for the cheap imitation program; okay, their programs not cheap. I guess I'll have to take they high road about the imitators...I hate the high road. 

Just returned from the Charleston Marathon and though it was by far my worst overall performance in a marathon, time wise; yet it's one I'm very proud of. Why? Because I did not quit. I knew going in that I was no where near marathon shape, and really I was just hoping for a quality long run ('long' being a relative term). Then once my body pulled out it's inner Roberto Duran "No mas, no mas" around mile 21 I thought "what the heck" and just sort of walked it on in. And at mile 21 we were (literally) .2 from the finish. Yes, mile 21 and 26 were together. So you know what that means, yep! they sent us down this industrial side road for 2.5 miles, around a cone and back we came. Ay yi yi!!! But, it gave me lots of time to think and I was reminded yest again how fortunate I am to enjoy something as much as I enjoy running and still get to do it. Am I as fast as I once was? Nope. Still pretty proud of my PR's, I'll stack them up against most anyones - especially since I was in my 50's when I set them.  I guess I'll just start a new set of PR's for my >60 years. Just because I'm not as 'fast' as I once was doesn't mean I'm not smarter and a better coach for it. Don't recall Nick Saban putting on a helmet in the LSU game, but the man coached the heck outta his team!  However the best thing is that I'm still running! I'm amazed at all the people I see and hear from that continue to run though pain! They are injured! It's not rocket surgery! The old joke about going to the Dr, "Doc, it hurts when I do that." "Well, don't do that!" is an absolute truism. If you hurt enough that it changes your gait don't be a dumb ass! DO NOT RUN! If it doesn't get better shortly then re-direct your thinking and make getting back to 100% the focus of your training. Talk to a coach, a Dr, a PT, somebody, but find the root cause and get well. By 'root cause' I mean (for example) though IT Band issues create pain in your knee, the cause is virtually always rooted in your hip area. If you have chronic hamstring pain, then most likely you have weak glutes (if your glutes are weak then your hammies pick up the slack = over worked). As a certified personal trainer (in addition to run coach) we have to learn that stuff + practical application and knowledge from a looonnngggg time of running. I pretty much count the start of my running career from 1994, the year I ran my first marathon, though I was running 5K's and 10K's long before that. I have many friends who can no longer run simply because they would not rest. When they felt pain, they tried to push through it - sheesh! Pain is your body's way of saying *stop*! If you keep pushing it, much like a blow out in a car, it will stop you! One of my great friends and mentors Al DiMicco is still out there chugging; as fast as he once was? Nope, but still going! Between he and I we've seen thousands come and go, sadly too many go. I remember once guy who ran with us loved it, loved it! He ran a marathon, wow! Got to do an ultra! He did Oak Mtn 50K (actually about 53 K, but hell, you gotta get back - they weren't coming to me at 50K), then I think a 50 miler (may have been 100 miler) and... we never saw him again. Not really injury, but 'burn out'....just as deadly. So here's some free advice: If it hurts, rest it, if you're tired, rest...no not for 30 minutes, 36 - 48 hours. Take TWO days off, then go run again. Still hurts? Bite the bullet and call a Dr (seriously, internet self diagnosis? Please! What is they say about the Dr who treats himself? He has a fool for a patient - most times we'll read something and see into it what we want to see. So see a Dr familiar with runners (subject of another blog, soon to come), they are out there...as are some idiot Doctor's who still think running is bad for you. Then...ready for it? FOLLOW HIS ADVICE!!! If the pain/injury doesn't show improvement after some time, find another Dr. Sometimes just 'rest' isn't enough. If a heart attack doesn't kill you, then sooner or later you'll feel better and start to move around; doesn't mean the damage wasn't done. I've registered for marathons, triathlons and flea markets that I had to skip because of various injuries. Guess what, they'll have the same race again next year. I'd rather do it well and have fun. Remember, if you do NOT take care of your body, it will NOT take care of you. Especially (and this is key) over time! Some injuries take months to manifest themselves. You'd think runners/athletes would know that! Would you go to a Dr that smoked? I'm really proud of my first marathon and in late April I'll be really proud of my 57th 'ish', why? Because I'm still running, after 18 + years; and that's my wish for you. That 5 or 10 years from now we're still meeting at the Y, the Western, or Good People and running together. Please - there are no medals for 'pushing through it'. It's not Rocket......Science.

I had one thought on my mind today when something completely out of the blue happened to change that, so it's 2 for the price of one. Both are true to life; first off, my racing times have slowed over the past few years, yeah I know I'm old. Doesn't mean I've forgotten how to run fast or what needs to be done to get faster and I have hopes of rebounding a little. I don't recover as fast either because I have a bit of arthritis in my knees, very common and totally manageable. So when I hear people say moronic things like, "Running is bad for your knees," I cringe. Like Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid." Running, like most exercises, when done properly is not only NOT bad for your knees but it actually increases bone density and strengthens joints. I could go on and on about long term studies (runners vs non-runners including those that have quit running - highest incidence if arthritis is in non-runners; studied since 1st 'running boom'), New England Journal of Medicine yada, yada, yada. Life has taught me a lot and these lessons get reinforced everyday...99/100 someone who is wrong almost physically can NOT admit when they are wrong. They just can't, even when proven so, they go into 'Fonzie' mode, "I was wrrrrr...I was wrrrrr...." they can't do it. True story (about knees), my dearest childhood friend, pretty much grew up with him (yes, I know the argument could be made neither of us 'grew up') could not have been more different than me. Here I was/am roguish, charming, irresisitable (okay, okay)...Actually I've played sports from my earliest memory, any sport - all sports. Not him, he never ran.....ever, even if he had to pee really bad. He was great in math, very artistic and musically talented and I (to this day) can't carry a tune in a bucket or draw a straight line. He hasn't run a 5K cummutively in his adult life, while I've completed 56 marathons. Now I have a 'tinge' of arthritis in my knees and he's had both of his knees replaced in the last year. So practice good form, stay strong (xtrain/weights) and there's no reason you can't run for years on those knees. Speaking of friends, many who've read my writings know how I encourage people to give 'flowers' to the living. A lot happens when someone near to you passes and I think the worst is our sense of loss. You miss them, and there's no opportunity to see them again...ever. I think we cry not for the person but for ourselves because we know how badly we're going to miss them and their leaving us was a stark realization, the so called cold bucket of reality. Michael O'Connor was the Fire Chief of north Shelby County. He was an accomplished marathoner and IronMan triathlete. His wife Nelle was a 'casual' runner who completed the C210K program a few years back so she and Mike could run together on occasion. I ran with Big Mike many a mile on many a Sunday morning and this guy made Tony Robbins sound like Eeyore; always upbeat, always positive and looking for that next challenge. So needless to say I was shocked and saddened when I heard today that Mike was taken from us by a stroke. The body that he took such good care of ultimately failed him and you know what he'd say? "Yeah but Danny, but it's given me so many good miles..." and, of course, he would be right. Please, enjoy your runs, your races, your accomplishments but enjoy your running family more - yeah, your family too, that goes without saying...sheesh. When you run and train with someone you see them when life is a breeze and you see them struggle mightily. Yet they are glad you are there with them just, well, just because. We know, how it feels to PR and how it feels to need to crawl that last mile, we understand each other, even without words. So to my running friends, when I wish you well in a race...I really mean it, probably more than you know. I'm glad you're there for me and when we're not running together, I miss you. Really. I like how we can run together maybe only once a month yet pick right up where we left off. I know season's change, people change and time marches on, but for all of you who've escorted me through the miles, thank you...I love running with you; and Big Mike, I'm gonna miss you.

Happy New Year everyone! I know it's kind of arbitrary, but everything has to have a starting point and the New Year is perfect for looking back to gain perspective and looking forward with hope and determination. 2012 is gonna bring some fun stuff, new goals for me and hopefully some new friends plus closer relationships with friends I already have, I can't wiat! Announcements & stuff to look forward to: New Year's Edition of Couch to 5K will start Monday 6:00 p.m. BB&T Bank Bldg parking lot (2401 20th Place South) - I'll explain the program first, then those who are ready will 'get 'a goin'! Run University is going to be a little more active on the 'fun scene' so we'll have a Run U Reunion and Fat Tuesday Run with door prizes and other fun stuff. Look for a new Half Marathon in Tuscaloosa late March benefitting Habitat for Humanity. The goal is for the 'half' to rais enough to fund at least one new house annually (the word is 'goal'). They are still helping tornado victims. The Mayor is on board (he just did his first marathon) as are Nick and Terry Saban (Nick's Kids works closely with 'Habitat'). The website should soon be up and running. There's also the Dixie 200 Relay Run from Atlanta to Birmingham that ought to be a blast and that's just the first 5 months of 2012!! Hopefully everyone has their 'running' goals in mind as well as personal and professional 'resolutions'. I think it's great to set lofty goals, but we can only reach those goals when we continually 'stair step' towards them. I can't tell you how many people contact me saying they want to run a marathon (it's on their 'bucket list') when they haven't done a 5K...stair steps. Or another way to to look at it is, TODAY! Sometimes you can do something one day at a time (or one half day) at a time that if you had to do for 6 months would be overwhelming. Resolving to run more, lose weight or eat healthier? Set the run schedule up one day at a time stair stepping to your goal; eat just one healthy meal at a time. Working out, set the workout days like appointments and be sure you go TODAY! If it's Monday don't worry about Tuesday, do Monday's 'sutff'...just do today. Get your run in, today. Just today, worry about tomorrow when it gets here - you can prepare for the future, but you can only take care of TODAY. So TODAY, do something positive for your health, your family, your job and most importantly for yourself. Don't make the excuse, "I don't have time." We ALL have the same 24 hours, MAKE time." You'll never 'find' time...Just TODAY, no excuses...none. Then one day at a time you'll find yourself inching closer, then stepping, then rapidly gaining on those goals and your resolutions will become habits! If you slip up or fall off your 'horse', take a mulligan! Deep breath, remember WHY you made these self promises then get back ON the horse, TODAY! Slipping up is not fatal, but quitting is. Just TODAY, start over, you can do tha one day at a time. It's going to be a great year, your best year yet and it starts....TODAY!