Week Off

I'm as excited as I ever was before Christmas when I was a kid. Next week is Spring Break and since I am broken, I need the break, the rest, the recreation. Lately, I have been looking at Google maps in an attempt to get some big runs going while I am off work. My hope is to be Billy Big Miles next week as I prepare for the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. I don't know the exact distance-- maybe that's one of the things I will do during my off time-- but from the Hideout to the Ridgeland city limit sign the way I will go is a hair over 100 miles. I am guessing it is another six miles to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi's office.

Right now I am planning on doing the run in five days. That is down from the six of my original plan. I may even go four before it's over with, depending on my fitness, weight loss, and motivation. I figure I should be able to cover twenty-five miles per day. The fewer days it takes me, the less I spend on food and Gatorade and motels. Not only that, but fewer days means less time away from our cats. If I am away from the cats too long, I go into withdrawal, cat withdrawal. I am told that feline withdrawal is somewhat analogous to the DTs an alcoholic may experience if drink is stopped cold turkey. I want to avoid that at all costs.

Furthermore, I might do a little moving somewhere between Monday and Saturday. Yeah, we are still in the process. If you have been in one house for forty-three years and decide to move, pack some clothes, set your old house on fire, and don't look back. It can't be done. You can't move after that much time. Burn and leave, it's the only way.

Also, I hope to move a lot of weight with both upper and lower body. In addition to the weights, I plan of swimming a fair amount. The Mississippi State Senior Olympics has announced that the games will be held. They even gave the dates of April to October for the fun, but so far have failed to give us anymore information than that. I don't have a clue when the swimming will be. My hope is it will be June or later because right now, the Geezer Run is getting all the attention, top priority in my training and thinking and dreaming. Actually, my swimming has fallen off. A date for the swim meet would be a big boost to get me back into water shape. 

If you are reading this and have any whim that you might like to help in some way, let me tell you how you can. First, pray. I need the coolest weather that May can offer when I begin this run. Second, prepare to donate. Right now my goal is to raise $4,000 for the DFM, the best charity no one has ever heard of. Third, if you are off work and want to drive down, bring me some Gatorade and ice-cream. 

Ice-cream? 

Yeah. Ice-cream sandwiches, melted ice-cream in squeeze bottles, or a pint of ice-cream and a good spoon. Believe it or not, ice-cream is the ultimate endurance food. I know this for a fact. It exclusively fueled my longest swims, 22.38 and 23.8 miles. Furthermore, I like pizza, fried chicken, Moon Pies, and a good sub sandwich. 

How to find me? I plan to post my progress on Facebook each night. After the first two days, I will be on Highway 51 all the way until I pass the Natchez Trace. Then I will hit city streets as I make my way to 800 Avery Boulevard. Oh yeah, besides praying about the weather, pray for my training. This 64-year old body needs to endure a lot before then and especially during the run. On an adventure like this, nothing is guaranteed. When I did the swim, I knew that all I needed was good weather and time. I could do it. With a run of this length, one is dependent on the body not breaking down. Like a piece of machinery, sometimes the body breaks and the gig is up. So in some regards, this is a journey of faith as well as a journey of physical endurance. Pray for me, please. And pray for my wife who always worries about me when I do crazy things.

Thank you, and God bless you. Thank you, Jesus, for this plan that has me training, dreaming, and planning like I have not in years.