did i lose connection from my buddies? is running ahead blog the "uncool" blog location? (is there a new whitefish high school running site/ communications online?) i ran the cape cod marathon in maine......actually it is in massechusets for those of you who are geographically challenged with east coast states in any case the marathon in was beautiful, a great form of nirvana and relaxation....till mile 22. i ran the last bit with my hands over my head b/c my stomach hurt so bad...hope all is well elsewhere

anne I am so proud of you! that is super exciting... And I am still here as well. I hate to admit it but I still check runningahead everyday (sometimes twice) even though there has been no activity for quite some time now... I guess this is mostly because I have not been doing any running and feel rather guilty about talking about things I am not currently a part of... But! The good news is that I think I'm about ready to start running again... I think the extended break was really a good thing for me and I am starting to miss it so much... I am terrified, however that I am going to go out on my first couple runs and realize that I don't actually miss it and have to start again from scratch. Ah well... I'll keep you updated.

Anne, I had to look at the Cape Cod Marathone results. That's cool. Again, nice job. In the "it's a small world dept." Did you notice in the results, a runner from Great Falls finished a few minutes ahead of you. Weird.... and the connection doesn't stop at Montana, apparently, this runner, Rikka Strong (who ran xc at Great Falls High) does crew at Harvard. Whoa, she may have walked right by Clare on campus just days prior to racing along side of Anne in the marathon. Boy, I can come up with tons of useless trivia if I really try. Bill

YAY!! people are still connected, this is exciting. well today i have my "APFT" basically a physical test to keep you eligible at west point. ive always wanted to "maxit" or "super max it" by scoring above a 300 but ive never been above a 294....until now! i got a 343. what you have to do is 2 minutes of pushups - 42 is maxing for girls (last saturday i did 58! but then today for some reason, i could only do 45...), 2 minutes of situps - 78 is maxing for girls (i did 86, way better than my last one of 77), and then run 2 miles...I ran about a 12:30 which is exciting considering a sinus infection has been ongoing and im not even running with the XC team to do that...in any case theres my bit of news. and bill, if you do have time in the future, there is a question about overtraining and marathon running that one of my buddies (actually my platoon sargeant technically) has: Question: A friend of mine, a junior, is running an ultramarathon (100 mile race in Arizona) in November. His current mileage is between 130-150 miles a week, along with 2 hour lifting sessions a day. He was wondering what advice could be found regarding cross training and prepping for such an event. My friend was overweight as a child, his football coach dad starved him back into a normal weight range, and ever since his baseball/football highschool career, "Tom" has been running and working out on a high-intensity basis. His two-mile time has gone from 14:00 to 10:20 since he came to west point, which is really great imprvoment......bu I see the signs of someone overcompensating and overtraining to "make-up" for his poor health in the past. He really is on a route to self-destruction and injury, because when he has a twinge or "hurt" he merely just trains harder and longer the next day. I have run a few long runs with him when hes asked me to, and His questions to me include: how to eat properly to prepare for the ultramaration (right now he will not touch anything fried or unhealthy, he is trying to "maintain" weight, but he will not eat foods such as meatball sandwich). (it is also very irritating when, i who wiill eat anything, hear him say how proud he was that he threw out the donut or resisted the pizza...sounds like self-punishment) his other question was: "Is two weeks enough recovery time after an ultramarathon to do another?" (he is signed up for a marathon two weeks after the ultra marathon) i think what will happen is he will get injured bad and learn the hard way that he is over-comopensating. Can i tell him something to avoid that path?

Anne, Nice job with the APFT. I know I couldn't do that amount of sit-ups and push-ups. Not even close. I'm afraid that there's not much I can say to help your friend. It's all about attitude. There will be a time that he will understand. I'm afraid that experience will help more than words. I think that the rigidity of his program and philosophy helps him to stay on task with his goals. By having him change, may lead to larger problems with his expectations of the activity. He'll be okay. Even the marathon, after the ultra will work out. His body will shut down when it becomes too much, and he'll learn from that. You may be able to help him, but continuing to show him that there are other ways of accomplishing the same goal. Your example will rub off, even without words. Sometimes it's better to let time work things out, rather than trying to change things too quickly. 12:30 two mile, that sounds like you're not having any trouble running fast. Nice job!!!! Bill

Sara I am so sorry for your loss, I did not know this... I remember how much Nicole and Jordan loved her especially. I wish I could be there to give you a mountain hug but you can call/email me if you ever want to. We are having a prayer chain in your mother's honor at my next Fellowship for Christian Athletes assembly, just to pray for strength and say thank you for the good life she lived. It's good you are still running and doing everything you love. I am really glad there are still bloggers blogging here, and tommorrow I'm going for a really pretty run at "Black Rock"...the leaves are almost done turning here. Thanks for the advice Bill, I will do as you suggest. Yes, I was surprised I ran decently for the APFT, but I didn't go to the bathroom before I did the 2 mile run, and that showed at about the 9 minutes mark....i will drink less water next time!

I'm home... does anyone want to run (really really slowly) with me? Please?

Where are you giong for Christmas? Also, I have accepted into the CIA (Culinary Insitute of America) and set for enrollment next fall with a decent enough scholarship......besides the fact that I love to cook....and the fact that I really applied as a joke just to see...I doubt I will go, but it humors me every day to think about going from a military college to a chef college! It's just down the river too.... I'm all set to get some good fun/adventours runs in Pensilvania and long island this weekend...should be fun with my old XC teammate chrissy rath...happy thanksgiving everyone! miss yall