Jordan Jr.?

I need to start off not talking about what I planned to talk about, but something else entirely.

My family has not been blessed with a huge amount of athletic ability. It's not that we don't like to compete, it's just that, like most people, that natural ability gene just isn't present. My kids play all the sports -- baseball, football, basketball, karate -- but generally aren't the first picked on the teams.

My eldest has been playing basketball this winter and has been on a pretty good team with a great coach. He's learned so much, as have all the boys, and it's been great to watch them come along this season.

So, yesterday was the last game before the playoffs and the the kids are all looking forward to playing. My son is scheduled to play the first three qtrs. In the first qtr, he misses a couple of shots and makes one to equal his season high 2 pts. Game is tied at 6. In the second qtr, he gets fouled on a shot and makes 1 of 2, but the other team's big guy makes a few. 13-9 at the half.

Third quarter, my boy starts to look like the next Michael Jordan and he knocks in two baskets, has a clean steal and he's just on fire. His team mates recognized the hot hand and were actually feeding the ball to him. After 3, they were back on top 19-16. Deb and I just had proud smiles on our faces and one of the other dads asked me what he put on his Wheaties for breakfast.

In the end, the other team tied it up, but our guys finished them off 27-23. What an exciting and proud game.

When?

Saturday is long run day and time and weather being what they are, I wasn't excited about running early in the upper 20's with the Team in Training crew. With 12 miles on the schedule, I needed a warmer plan.

Talking to my buddy Dave, he planned to hit the treadmill early to get in his 17 as his next big event is in 5 weeks. "I'm going to the club at 5 to hit the 'mill, wanna meet me there?" When? 5 am? 5 am, Saturday? "Yeah." Hmm, let me see what else I have going on at 5. Let's make that 4, alarm clock time. Amazingly, my calendar is free. Sure, I'm in!

At 4:06, as the birds on my alarm clock were chirping, I finally opened my eyes and hit the floor. When I gave Deb a kiss goodbye, she instructed me to kick Dave's butt on the 'mill. One thing I knew is that I'd be able to at least keep up. Dressed and out the door, I met up with Dave at my club at the agreed upon 0450. Not surprisingly, the crowds were non-existant. By a few minutes after 5, we were off and running.

With 12 miles on the schedule, Dave suggested I keep my speed down so that I could run somewhat comfortably for 2+ hours. What I like about the treadmills at my club is that they each have their own tv. We pretty much kept to our headsets. I settled in for the first hour nicely at a 5.7 mph pace. I normally start at 5.7 and move up and down around 6 mph over the course of the runs, but for today, 5.7 would work. I was able to run without stopping for the first 3.5 or so, then just about 1/10 of a mile for each mile run. I was feeling pretty good. Oh, and Dave, he was rocking at 7.6.

In the second hour, we did some talking. Kinda weird for me since I'm used to running alone. It was very comfortable, and I was able to converse fairly easily as my heart rate stayed around the upper 140's. In the last few minutes, Dave pushed up to 9.0, so I figured it was time to kick his butt -- I bumped to 9.1, which he matched, then bumped to 9.2. After 1/10 mile, it was time to cool down. Dave had hit his 17 and I had banked 12.5.

Along the way, there were a number of very important questions answered. Treadmills are obviously not designed for long runs, though there is no penalty for doing them. It's just that you never know how the computer will handle the bigger numbers. I know that these machines stop at an hours, though they restart with time and distance ongoing with the push of a button. Question is what happens after 99 minutes with just four number spots on the display. I figured that the machine would again stop and reset. Gladly, I was wrong, it just converts to minutes only, no seconds. Second question was answerd at the 2 hr point -- would it stop there? Answer is no -- just keeps on ticking. I guess we'd be good to 9,999 minutes. No worries!

Oh yeah, the time. 143 minutes -- a pace of 11:27. Pretty good, considering the distance. With that said, I had no elevation on the machine, so I wouldn't expect to go that fast on the roads, but I felt really good in the end. Probably the first time I've felt confident about the big one to come. I could have definitely kept it going for a while longer. Now, I really can't wait for the B&A half in two weeks.

So much for the longest treadmill report in history!

L'Chaim!