You Broke My Will

Tonight I went and ran with the guys out at RRO. We started out the run with Jim saying to take it nice and easy. Well, I guess he forgot those words as we quickly ramped up the pace. By the time we got to about mile four, we were in what seemed to me to be an all out sprint. Although, it could have something to do with me just coming off of a brake. It felt good though. Kind of like an awakening for my legs. Not much longer now and those kinds of runs will feel like a walk in the park.

A little more then 15 weeks left until Boston!

Back In The Swing Of Things

I am back in NC from fun and exciting trip to NYC. You can never truly know the size and energy of a city like New York until you visit it in person. We took in a good bit of the city on our short trip and had a lot of fun.

Now that I am back, it is time to get back to a good routine with my running. Only about 4 months left until Boston and I have a lot of work to do. Tonight I went and ran with the guys out at RRO and did a little over six miles. Lets just say it hurt a little bit. It's tough coming back after a week and a half brake, but I think the brake did me a lot of good. It should help me to get refocused on my training.

On the down side, being back means I will have to go back to work. I've got a full schedule through sunday. Everyone wanted off for New Years and that means those of us that are working are working a lot. It's OK though. When I get sick of my job, which I often do, I just remind myself that in a mater of five months or so I will be 6000+ miles away starting to do some real good in the world. Until then, it is my job to work as hard as I can here in Raleigh and get ready for the epic journey that lie before me. Every moment of everyday prepares us for, and has an effect on the moments to follow. We can either learn from the day to day occurrences, or we can let life just pass us buy without making a difference in the world. So we must slow down, or we might just miss something thats worth seeing.

At least thats how I see things.

In the Midst of the Holidays

So, I have absolutely no desire to run on a regular basis right now. I have decided to go ahead and take a brake until after my visit to NYC in the next couple of days. I may get out and run tomorrow or thursday before we fly out, but I'm not making any promises. I think I just needed a brake. I didn't really take much of one after the marathon and I was training nonstop from january 1st up until the marathon. We'll see how things go.

I have begun the process of researching the things I need to get and take with me to Zambia for the Peace Corps. I am trying to avoid taking to much so that travel will be easy. I am told that many things are available there in the country and that there is no need for me to take them with me from the states. My goal is to come in well under the eighty pound limit on checked luggage we have for the flight.
I have been doing a lot of research on the country of Zambia as well. It is quite a fascinating place, but there are many problems that the country faces and fortunately it appears that they are taking them on full steam ahead. Work over there will be hard, but I think I am ready for it and I am ready to go. Just got to wait out the next five and a half months!

Cold Rainy Days Suck.

I am supposed to be going on a run with the RRO group tonight, but there's no way I'm going running in that crap. I have been a bit of a slack the last two weeks for running but hopefully things will turn around next week. I've got to start getting ready for Boston.

On the Peace Corps side of things, I mailed in my passport and visa applications a few days ago and e-mailed my resumé and aspiration statement in this morning. I have met a few people that I will be heading over to Zambia with on the internet. Not that many yet but I think a good number of folks have not heard from their placement officers yet.

Jumping in to the Peace Corps!

During my 2+ years in Zambia, I will be working on the LIFE Project; Linking Income, Food and Environment. This program is geared towards the preservation of the Game Management Areas (GMA) around Zambia and the build up of sustainable agriculture with in the communities surrounding them. I will live in a remote village and work with the locals to increase agricultural productivity, generate alternative income and teach environmental education. To get a little more detailed description, check out The LIFE Project link down in my Zambia Info box.

The Temptation of Bed

Ok, so it's Sunday morning and I should probably be finishing up my run with all the guys up at RRO. Well, I'm not. Yesterdays run changed from a planed 8 to 10 miles into a good 13+ miler, thanks in small part to The Eagles little friend Nellie. We had a whole pack of dogs out for the run yesterday. Paul brought Xander and Mike brought Ivan as well. Nellie decided she wasn't getting enough action with us and wondered off with another group. We spent the next little while running back and forth looking for her. It was fun though. I can't complain.

Good Run For A Change

I had an awesome run last night with the RRO crew. I ended up running with Brian. We did eight fairly easy miles and talked the whole way. I and my legs felt great after the run. I think that I might be starting to get over my laziness slump I've been in ever since the marathon.

On the Peace Corps frontier things are going great. I have accepted my invitation and have been reading about my assignment and researching things on the web just about any time I am not asleep or at work. I will do a post in the next week or so to tell everyone about my future volunteer role in Zambia.

Change Is Inevitable

As you might have noticed I have changed the site a little bit. I've got way too much time on my hands and got board. It looks like I will be heading out of the country in about 6 months. While over seas I hope to continue using the blog. I will still be using this blog to chronicle my running exploits, but I will also be using it to chronicle the Peace Corps experience. I could start another blog, but that takes time and as I previously stated, I have way too much of that to be bothered with more responsibility. Wait...that's right, I'm just a little to lazy to do it. There will be more changes to come as I slowly learn to mess with the html code without screwing it up too much. Stay tuned to follow me around the world. You could make it fun like, say, Where's Waldo. I actually resemble Waldo on some level. But that's another topic.

A Sigh Of Relief

I did a fairly easy workout with the guys tonight. We went over to North Hills Rd and did hill repeats. I was less than enthusiastic to find out that we would be doing ten of them, but I made it without keeling over. My leg seems to be getting better. It hardly bothers me any more.

I did, because of the leg, weasel out of the Mistletoe Half Marathon this past weekend. My parents, however, competed in the 5k and did quit well. Congratulations!

You might be wondering what the sigh of relief is for. I have received my invitation for the Peace Corps and now know when (June 2006) and where (Zambia) I will be going. I've been on pins and needles for a while now and it is great to finally know something. All I need to do know is plan out my next six months of running. I am certain that I will be doing Boston and I might do one other marathon, but I don't know yet.

Time fly's when your running fast! Cheers and good running!

Still Recovering

I had a pretty good weekend of running. I went out to Umsted with the guys on Saturday and met them again at the store to run the greenway on Sunday. This was my first back to back run since the marathon. I have been sticking to going out every other day. My legs felt fine and my hamstring thing seems to have dissipated. It's nice to feel like I'm starting to get back some normalcy in my running.