Dreaming of White Rocks

These dreams go on when I close my eyes

- Heart

I've had some really weird running-related dreams recently - straight out of the twilight zone. In them, I keep finding myself at the start line of some random race decked out in running shirt, shorts and my work shoes and socks. Confused and feeling like an idiot (and a none too fashionable one at that), I am running around in circles asking if anyone knows where my running shoes are. Then the gun goes off, we all take off and I realize I don't even know what race or distance I'm doing.

And everyone's running really fast.

So I'm pushing hard to keep up and asking if anyone knows what race this is. For some reason all the runners are faceless, but they keep laughing at me and telling me to just read my bib. I look down and it says "The Race of Life - distance unknown".

Then it all melts away and I find myself sitting alone on top of a mountain in a blizzard, shivering and waiting to pace a mysterious runner I know will never come.

Strange, huh?


I've been feeling a little restless since Frankenthon. I'm nursing a sore hip and a niggling pain in the ball of my foot, so I haven't been doing much except yoga.

On the other hand, I know I've been running well in the last month or so, and am not entirely happy with myself for taking my foot off the gas on that last loop at the weekend. I know a sub-4 hour marathon is good, but I also know I have a faster marathon in me. So this morning I signed up for the Dallas White Rock marathon.

Nancy and the boys can't go with me because of her dad. So I'm going to drive up on the Saturday, stay the night, run the race and drive home.

And I'm excited. It's a big city marathon with lots of crowd support, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. So what better chance to really push the boat out and go for it from the start.

I very rarely publicly state my race goals in advance, but I would love to finish another marathon in the 3:30s.

And maybe, just maybe, if I have a really good day, somewhere in the 3:20s.

And if I blow up, it will still be good practice for running on tired legs at Rocky.