Do runners shave II?

Blogging has been a cool experience so far.  There is something cool about spewing thoughts and having other people read them.  It's also awesome when people share their thoughts in comments section.  One of most interesting things about having a blog is that I can see how many people have read the blog and how they got here.  Admittedly, most of the people that read my blog get here via my facebook page where I post when I have a new entry.  People can follow the blog or subscribe to get the blog emailed to them, but most clicks come from facebook.  I am happy to say that I do have an international following! So, welcome readers from Canada, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy, China, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Finland, who probably accidentally clicked on my blog.  The really interesting part (at least to me) is that many people end up doing a google search to find out if runners shave their bodies and end up at my blog!  It makes me feel somewhat guilty that people are trying to find out actual information and end up reading my rambling blog and the entry I posted earlier about whether I was supposed to shave my body before the half marathon.  It makes me wonder what other phrases I could include in my blog that would get people to end up here.  If I mention "Royal Wedding" will that lead to thousands of clicks on my blog??  If I mention Sarah Palin or Barrack Obama, will that increase my readership??  I'm not sure but to those of you that happen to be looking for accurate information on whether runners shave their bodies, I apologize for not giving you any idea what to do.  I can tell you that when I attempt to run the half marathon in September, I do not intend to shave my body (but i have been considering shaving my head).

What could be worse than trying to run a half-marathon?

It is probably wrong to complain about registering for a baby shower.  But screw it! Attempting to register for a baby shower is practically enough to train me to run this half-marathon.  Let's start with the fun part.  Having a scanner gun and being able to walk around a store and zap things is pretty awesome (it would be more awesome if it were things that I wanted or needed).  The awesomeness of the scanner was quickly replaced by the overwhelming feeling of "What the hell did I get myself into?" which was followed with thoughts like "What's the difference between a receiving blanket and a burping cloth?" and "Why do I need them both?"  

Truthfully, I started to doubt my ability to be a good father as I stood in the store trying to fold up a stroller.  I could not figure it out!  I think we spent over two hours in the store trying to find all the things we needed and that didn't even get us close to being done.  One problem is that once you decide on an item you need, then you have to figure out which one will be the one to chose.  Am I expected to know which diaper receptacle will best prevent my house from smelling like baby poop?  They all look pretty effective in the pictures!  How did Michael Landon on Little House on the Prairie survive without a Diaper Genie??

I can safely say that trying to run a half marathon will be more fun than registering! It also seems that even at my slow pace (I'm still at about a 13 minute mile) it will take longer to register than it will for me to run the half-marathon.

Could this happen to me?

So, here is a link to something that could happen to me while attempting to run the half-marathon

http://deadspin.com/#!5793292/the-poopiness-of-the-long-distance-runner

This could be my worst fear!  I'm not really concerned with my finish time, so, I'd like to think that I could find a bathroom somewhere along the way.  But, I guess if you have to go, you have to go!

Is the Universe against me?

People didn't believe me when I compared myself to Job from the Bible in a previous blog.  Let's just say that when your washer has smoke pouring out of it, your car gets rear ended, and ants are attacking your kitchen, you start to wonder what you did to piss the Universe off.  I'm starting to wonder what else could go wrong!  I had plenty of time to ponder why the Universe hates me while I did my laundry at the laundromat this afternoon.  However, that's not what I found myself thinking about.  The truth is that when I find myself facing stressful events or worried about something, I always start to think of my parents.  Moments of stress or worry make me miss them terribly.  It's those times that I long to hear them tell me "Michael, it will all be ok".  On the long list of things that I miss about my parents, it may be their ability to comfort me that I miss the most.  There is no feeling quite like having your parents there to tell you that things will work out.  While thinking about them can cause me alot of pain, it also brings me back to reality.  They both endured more physical and emotional pain than I can imagine.  Throughout all of that, they thought more about their family then themselves.  As my father battled cancer, he worked hard to guarantee that his wife and children would be secure after he was gone.  When my mother faced the same battle, her thoughts went to making sure her children did not worry about her.  When I remind myself of these things, it snaps me back to the reality that complaining about a washer being broken or my car getting run into is silly in comparison.     

How does this impact my half-marathon training?  Well, it was hard to run while I had a concussion from the car accident.  And the feeling of the Universe being against me has not helped my motivation to train excessively hard.  As of today, I only have 176 days until the half-marathon.  I'm quickly running out of time!  So, I need to get myself out of this funk and get to work.  I'm certain that thinking about my parents and their ability to face challenges will help motivate me. 

A final update before I end this particularly depressing blog post.  I am able to run about 3 miles without feeling like I'm going to die.  I'm hoping that it will continue to get warmer over the next few weeks so that I can start to run outside.  If you live in the Lehigh Valley and see me jogging around Bethlehem, don't be afraid to honk and wave!     

How can I avoid looking like a dumbass when I run outside?

I am so happy that it is starting to feel like spring.  Baseball has started (go Phils!), you can see grass instead of snow, and the days are starting to get longer.  My back couldn't take much more shoveling of snow.  Unfortunately, the warmer weather means that I have no excuse for running inside on my treadmill.  Which leads me to my fear that I am going to look like an idiot when I'm running.  It is hard enough for me to avoid looking like a dumbass on a normal day! How am I going to avoid it as I try to run a few miles??  The way I see it, there are several factors involved.

1. Clothing - The right or wrong clothing can make or break my looking like an idiot.  I just recently got some Nike gear (thanks Jeannette!) that I think will help.  But, I've seen runners wearing those tight shirts and shorts that make their nipples/private parts pop out.  Anything that has any body part of mine protruding out, I desperately need to avoid!  Also included in this category are the people that run with no shirts.  I've had the unfortunately pleasure to see some pretty hairy guys running around.  Not a good look!

2.  Sweat - It is hard to look cool when you are running and sweat is pouring off of you.  Also, giant sweat marks on your shirt (that i will definitely have!) don't help in the cool department.

3. Looking tired/Getting sick/Having to stop -  I'm lumping these together and they are all strong possibilities for me.  When I see people running around town, they never look tired!  Most of them are trucking along with their earbud headphones looking pretty cool (As a side note, is there something wrong with my ears that I can not get those earbud headphones to stay in? I've seen the Itunes commercials with the people dancing around with the earbuds in...how the hell do they do that?!? If I take one step or breath the earbud pops out of my ear.  And then, when I get the one earbud back in, the one in the other ear pops out! Very frustrating.)  I will definitely look tired, may get sick, and may have to stop and walk at certain points in my run.  I don't think there is anyway around these issues, although, I do think that I can stop and pretend to be checking my pulse like some people do if I need a break. 

If anyone has any suggestions on these issues, let me know.  I may start my "outside" running in the next few weeks.  So, cross your fingers that I don't get too embarassed and give up on the half-marathon!