Generally I have all weekends planned in advance (LIFE is meant to be LIVED) – but because of the East Coast blizzard, three feet of snow kept my friend lodged in New Hampshire.

First free weekend of 20-13.  What to do?

Slept in ‘til 7am (that’s actually super late for me), played a few rounds of (mindless) solitaire on the iPad, then lazily rolled out of bed – Ro was begging at this point.  Dog park day!  An hour of running with his peeps, Ro seemed all balanced again.  So while he napped, I went on my longest run to date – 15 miles.  WOW!

That said, not a pretty run.  Cold because of cloud cover with the day’s snow (generally only sunshine here).  And I gotta tell ya, the last mile was .25 mile jog, .25 mile walk.  Music blaring, downed 2 Hammer gels for added energy – still, all I could do to finish.

Don’t plan on adding any additional distance ‘til April.  Gotta run more effortlessly, pick up the race pace & revamp my nutrition plan.  It’s not that I eat poorly…just not eating the right things to refuel properly.  Habits are tough to break…I skip a meal ‘cause I’ve overrun, then eat a buffet-size platter & overstuff myself.  Super frustrating!  Self-discipline?

Nothing happy about Happy Buddha.  A thin guy with a Buddha belly just looks Ethiopian.  Not cool.  Fosters & Fritos Fridays on my NYC train commute for the past 4-5 years, took its toll.  Why did I not have an Aha moment & stop/start sooner?

Definition of AHA MOMENT

: a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension

Our body is supposed to be a temple.  Last year’s hike challenge improved this temple from ‘trailer park’ to maybe ‘starter home’ (probably more like HUD housing).  But in order to finish a marathon, I’m gonna have to DREAM BIGGER – maybe settle on ‘ranch style’ in a family neighborhood but aim for ‘new development’ 🙂

Life Update: Followed up Saturday’s 15 mile run with another 10 miles on Sunday – a bit stiff in the beginning, but finished like a champ.  Snowman Stampede 10 miler is Saturday.  I can do this!

Happy Buddha