At The Hop: Or Random Taper Ramblings....

I know... totally random, but I'll eventually get to why I'm rocking to old 50's tunes...

First of all, congratulations to all the winners from the Happy and Healthy 2013 giveaway, and a big thank you to all the great sponsors.  That was so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again for 2014!

So, here I am, two weeks out from my first marathon..  kind of wavering from feeling like I got this, to second guessing the training plan, to mildly freaking out that I'm not ready... to wondering how I got here to begin with....    I'm guessing this is somewhat normal?  I hope so....

Ok.. so back to "At The Hop"...    First, let me drop in the Youtube video here so you can enjoy a little music with your reading...



Ok... so here's the long story.  Saturday the 5th was my 2nd and last 20 miler on my training program. I was a bit nervous, even though I made it through my first one. At the last minute, one of my FB peeps and and running idols, Mark Lofquist at Paleo Runners, left me a little quip for motivation. Basically he reminded me to keep my stride light and quick.. "pop pop pop!".  Well, 4 miles into my run I passed by the "Venture Foods", a very small grocery store in the equally small town of Divide, CO.  I needed a bio break (due to my pre-run coffee), and to warm up quickly, since it was 1F when I started my run.   As I made my exit, "At the Hop" was playing in the store, and was subsequently stuck in my head.

So, as I took off, this song was on permanent repeat for the next 16 miles, but of course with the lyrics changed to "lets go do the pop" .. and "pop pop pop pop pop"...    goofy as it sounds, it sure helped.

I know a lot of people run with earphones and music, but I just can't do it.. I have to hear what is going on around me.. so I'll settle for the music (and odd rambling thoughts) instead.  Also, while I was running it dawned on me that all my long runs had been in thermal compression pants, and I started worrying if running without them in the warmer So Cal climate would make a difference... I fretted about that for at least an hour...

Thank goodness for the power of social media..  I posted that question up on a few of the running groups I am in...  got enough feedback to understand my bigger issue would be overheating, and that I am going to be a ok in just shorts..   I know, silly things to stress about.

On the plus side, regardless of how I run, I am going to look great!  Thanks to the cool folks at INKnBURN  I'll be running, plodding, walking, crawling in this rocking tech shirt!  Should make it easier for my wife to find me in the crowd! Stay tuned for a full review after the race :-)

http://www.inknburn.com/men/crew-neck-tee.html

So...  any advice on coping with the next two weeks until the big day gets here?  Or do I just continue find things to worry about like getting the flu, injuries, alien abductions and the like?  I'll take all the advice and feedback I can get!

Thanks.. and happy trails!

Jeff

http://barefootinclined.com