Well, sorry for the delay - I was at Great Lakes Bible School, which was lovely as always! Got some good cross-training in, too - in the form of some basketball, softball, frisbee, water-sliding, and ping-pong-ing. I was constantly dehydrated throughout the week - most emphatically during basketball, and least-noticably during ping-pong-ing. Weird, though - I think I'm addicted to water (ever see that Jackie Chan movie The Tuxedo?).

Or maybe it's just getting hot out there. How are race preparations going? What races are on the dockets? I hope everyone's training is going well, and that all are healthy and happy.

The dawg days of summer are upon us. I don't know about the rest of you, but ugh. I'm hot. And it is making me weak. Kudos to all who are braving the steaming oppression of August and the tail end of July! The thing is, I'll be forced to run a Half Ironman August 19...I'm praying for clouds. And the motivation to run a couple of times before then.

Keep up the good work and the hydration of your bodies, and keep down the core temperatures of your bodies!

Just put up the holiday lights on the house. I'm also in the mode of wearing my holiday running attire. I have not signed up for a race yet, other than Ironman Wisconsin next September. But the window for Boston 2008 has opened, as of a couple months ago. It's TIME TO QUALIFY!!!!!

Will anybody be getting a BQ for Xmas?

Come on folks. Choose February to be re-inspired. Take the short month by the horns and let it represent your largest monthly mileage to date. Fill those 28 days with some solid base training. Prepare your body for the long season by encouraging some aerobic fitness in your muscles!

I'm signed up for 2 races so far...the Hogeye Marathon, and Ironman Wisconsin. Anyone else got race plans they want to share?

I don't think I'll ever run again.

In fact, I'm considering the cessation of all types of exercise.

It's just not worth it. There's too much life to live. There are too many demands on my time...ecclesia, family, job, friends, basketball league, crises, crises, crises, and trips to alaska.

I am fat and worthless. I have no energy, but I'm not exercising. I know the two are linked, but I don't even have the energy to do anything about it.

So I quit. I'm finished. finito.

Until I get home tonight. Then I'm going on a run.

Spring has sprung. Is there spring in your step? There must be! It is time to re-awaken. Your environment demands it! Get that winter weight off - take your time, be realistic, and most of all, be PERSISTENT, before the spring rains put rain-delays in all your plans!

There will always be excuses. Think of some excuses to do the right thing. Write "excuses" down 5 times in a row, and notice how weird a word it is...

excuses
excuses
excuses
excuses
excuses.

Excuses are for weird, weak people.

I know...sometimes I'm one of them.

Okay, so here's May 2007's entry.

It's here, right on time, so that you'll know that I'm lurking. Waiting for the right moment to lull P-diddy into a certain confidence...maybe in his footspeed. Maybe in his consistency.

And then I tromp him as the tortoise tromps the hare.

It will be such fun. And May may be the month where I get the leg up on the IMWI women...it has been a long time comin. I'm active, but not as much as I'd like to be.

But I feel the drive inside. I can HEAR it. Can you???

Well, summer is officially here this month...and you can definitely feel it in the air. Although we were spoiled in Central Arkansas this afternoon/evening by a nice, slow thundershower that cooled things off to a tolerable level.

Carmen reports some recent heat training...are we all getting enough of a dose of pain and sweat in the nasty-hot time of day? Me, I like to run at lunch. Sure, I could run in the morning, but then I'd miss out on all those valuable experiences like dehydration and sunburn...

Only the strong and hydrated will survive! Happy training.

okay, here it is.

forgive me, i was at bible school.

glcbs was awesome in every way - even a good recovery week for me (low miles). i hope you are all well.

keep good care of yourselves during this hot, wet summer season - lots of risk of illness during this time, as p-diddy is finding out.

me, i could stand to be a little healthier. just had a pint of ben&jerry's as a snack.

man, i love running.

Friends, Brothers, Sisters, it's H-O-T hot. My nemesis race, the Degray Lake Half Ironman, is coming up this month. I don't know why I always do it, other than the fact it's close to home. It's August 18 this year. Last year, I took 2 liters of fluid intravenously after the race. I was happy to receive it.

How do you avoid dehydration? Here's what I'm finding works:

1) limit your alcohol and caffeine intakes. They just dry you out generally.

2) begin hydrating for a target hot race at least a month in advance. This means you are consuming water in a focused manner - more than you might normally consume - until your urine is "clear and copious." One method I use to ensure this: I drink while I pee.

It's September 6th, I'm just putting this entry out there. I note there are no comments on the blog, which is good: because I know that the constituency of the blog are not upset with me for being late. And which is bad: because the constituency are hibernating. At a critical time? Maybe not. But hibernating, nonetheless.

What is all of this training for? Just for fitness? As a lifestyle? I, for one, have an Ironman in 3 days. What is all of the training for? This one day? Or for a lifetime?

I am blessed to know the lot of you, with your drive and appreciation of God's good gifts of health and fitness. I am blessed by your company, and pray you will continue in your pursuit of whatever fitness goals you have. They change, as I'm finding out. What are your new goals? There ALWAYS has to be a goal!!!

Anyone still attempting to qualify for Boston 2008 (that's the name of this blog, in case you forgot) had better start training for it now. I'm including myself in that program.

In hindsight, what goals have I achieved? Not many. What is the problem? Is it intensity? What is the solution? Is it consistency? These are the weaknesses which continually plague me.

October is the beginning of training for the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis. I have a sub-3-hour training plan that I got from Ray back in the day. I'm modifying it for a 3:10:59 pace. My PR is 3:15:33, so I'm optimistic...

Sure would be nice to reach a goal for a change.

"Pluggers" is a syndicated newspaper comic strip. It describes the lives of normal, everyday folks just getting through life. Sometimes our running is like that. Milestones may be few and far between, especially for marathoners, since you can't do too many races together. I like to think of us as Pluggers. We're not going to be under the spotlight, we're not going to break any records, but we may just set a PR here and there, and we're certainly going to be fitter for our efforts!

For example, last night, my resting HR was 42!!! To give you perspective, I have only seen my HR below 50 on TWO other occasions (both times 49, and that only for a minute or so).

So maybe I'm also "plugging" some cracks in the dike which holds back the raging river that is my mortality?

November brought yet another BQ for Casey (becoming sooo cliche, how he does it with apparent ease...) - way to GO! I'm happy to report December's arrival comes with a BQ for me! It was miserable. But it's done.

Funny thing about these goals of ours...most times, achieving goals comes with great satisfaction for me. With this goal achieved, I don't FEEL I've passed some great milestone (that sounds even more painful than passing a gall- or bladder- or kidney stone!) - just another event in life.

What do we do with these goals once achieved? Sometimes, having achieved something seems harder than actually working for it - it gives a measure of stability in our lives to always have something to work for. So it's time for a new goal...what will it be? (And don't say it's to run a fast Boston Marathon...I'm thinking about 5 hours - the pain is still too fresh.)

Happy winter running, everyone! Remember - running is an exothermic activity, so your production should actually go up! (It's one of the laws of the universe...)

So what is the plan now? Boston 2008 remains a possibility for some, and is a reality for some. Does the name of the blog need to change? I think so. I'm working on it, and taking suggestions.

The training blog is a good concept. And I'm not sure how many are even out there...maybe we're onto something? I like how we can prod one another into activity through encouragement, and more importantly, smack-talk.

So here's the plan for 2008: if a person doesn't post a whole bunch of activity that pushes their limits, that demonstrates they are challenging themselves at ever-higher levels of effort,

then the others will make fun of that person mercilessly. All year long.

So for now, I'm leaving the "Boston 2008" prefix to the blog title. But come April 22 (because I'll be too tired April 21), it's going down in favor of a more universal title...

Indications are, personal running is down for the erstwhile participants of this blog.

But how is the running bug doing in your area? Have you infected those around you, so that the bug lives on? Infection usually occurs as a result of intimate contact with a carrier of the disease; usually while the carrier is exhibiting active symptoms.

The virus is alive and well at the Hamlins, where yesterday, I told Marria, "you're the runner in this family now," as she headed out for an hour-long run, while I minded the homestead. I've successfully passed on this contagious disease of healthiness. Thus, the amount of running overall in my area has increased due to broader participation. And I've a mind to infect many more...

...maybe by doing so, I'll have to go through another bout of my own!

Just a wee bit of time until the big B. March will hold a little cram session for me, as I enter the home stretch. The new blog interface seems to be working out - seems to be a bit more sustainable, perhaps as a reminder that we ALL need to be more sustainable!

Marria has completed her half-marathon as of yesterday. My Wife. The Runner. She's officially addicted, and she's infecting everyone around her. At this rate, she'll be qualifying for Boston before BTBB!

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

Happy training!

Boston is here this month. Rock and Roll. How's training?

Sub 3-hour marathon? Sub 10-hour ironman? Can a man be a man with no goals? Can a shan be a shan with no goals? Certainly she couldn't be an eagleshan.

This month I have two events related to the annual Bike to Work Day. That's two goals. 1.) beat north little rock mayor pat hayes to the river market (he's in a car, i'm on my bike); and 2) get a good contingent of CTEHers to support bike to work day may 16.

But I'm thinking REAL goals. Real big goals. Dreams, you might call them. What would be the ideal, if your life were ideal? Now, I really think we should all think hard about this. Here are some guidelines:

Take stock: what have you accomplished? What does that say of your potential?
Be realistic: we actually want to reach these goals, so consider you have to live a real life, work, travel, illness, etc.
Long term: Think in the 1-2 year time frame. Think of a goal that will keep you motivated and active for a long time. I know we all have short-term goals...think of this as setting the bar one notch higher, so you can achieve some true improvement.
Identity: make it something that you'll begin to define yourself by. This is what helped me towards Boston... For example, on all my training runs, no matter what the distance, I was measuring up my pace to the pace I knew I had to run to qualify. What pace am I watching now? How do I measure my acheivements now? We'll make the profiles on this site associated with your goal (e.g., "Bald-til-Boston" Beeler: just as with our faith, he carries around this mark, keeping him focused on what he has hanging out there as a goal...I love it!).

"For where there is no vision for the future, the people cast off restraint..."

Remember that Boston 2008 was a long-term goal. Honestly, if I hadn't laid it out there for all to see, it wouldn't have been such a burden that I HAD to reach. It just would have been on some wish list that never came to reality...

Much love to all, and prayers for happy, healthy, productive training going forward!