It's CRUNCH time!!!

It's not in reference to a cereal, to an abdominal exercise, or to the crinkling-crunchy sound walking on snow. It's CRUNCH time for no more slack in training and trip planning.  The blog countdown clock reminds me that in a little more than a month, my buddy Bob and I will be smack in the middle of this great adventure.

My training is intense these days.  Two days a week are my distance days.  On Mondays, I'm building up to 13 miles...I'm presently at 9 miles.  Friday is the killer-day...I'm presently at 16 miles and working up to running three, 20-milers.  My last 20-miler is scheduled for March 5.  Tuesday is a tempo 6 mile run.  Wednesday is speed work...I'm running 4 miles, two of which have me running 100 meter sprints...it's a b_ll-buster.  Thursday is a non-running day, as I'm up at 5 am for a weekly church function and then work 8 hours at the Corps of Engineers...I finish the day with weight training.  Saturday is a non-running day; however, I go Nordic skiing with my buddies on the fantastic Anchorage trail system.  Sunday is kind of mixed up, as I try to Alpine ski at Alyeska that day and tear up my thigh muscles.  If I don't ski, I do a light run.  I'm finally feeling like I'm making progress with my runs.  I still try to run outside, instead of inside at the Dome, but another cold spell is coming so it's back to running around the track like a hamster running in its exercise wheel. Actually, trip planning is coming along just fine.  All our lodging is set, car rental is set, and airline reservations are set.  The most complicated task is figuring out train schedules and costs.  For those not familiar with European train travel, one can purchase point-to-point tickets or a Eurail pass, which can cover travel in multiple countries for multiple days.  To figure out the best value, I'm having to cost-out both options, which is tough because Bob and I have multiple destinations in Italy to combine with trips in France.  I also have to consider my train trips in Spain, which Bob will not be taking.  It's a who's on first and what's on second puzzle.  The following two calendars map out where Bob and I are headed and when (click on figure to see an enlarged image):

  

As you can see, Bob and I will be every where.  I assure you, however, there is a lot of R&R scheduled, especially in Cinque Terre and the Sorrento area.  It's been a lot of fun having conversations with the folks I've contacted about lodging.  It's amazing how interested they are about Bob and I running marathons.  We already made a special friend in Venice.  The owner of Pensione Guerrato is named Roby, and he threatened to charge us more if we ran a sub-three hour marathon!  He was joking, of course, because he is a marathoner (he ran the Venice Marathon last October) and still has yet to break three hours.  We're looking forward to drinking some wine and chatting with him when we're there...he said he'll show us around...now that's service.  Scott, our Marathon Tours and Travel host for the Rome Marathon is also a runner and we talked track events...he was a 400 and 800 meters runner.  A number of other folks wished us luck and looked forward to hearing our marathon "war" stories.

That's it for now.  I have some other thoughts about inspiration, iPhones, and what-the heck-to-pack that I'll cover in future blogs, as well as fill you all in on the specific things Bob and I have planned.  Remember, train hard...run far!  Arrivederci!

P.S. The photo behind the blog title is in Florence.  Also...Hey Bill, congrats on finishing the Miami Marathon and Salome on running the Half!