7 Continents!

I didn't have a chance to run today because it is fly home day.  But while at work tonight I have been kind of busy creating training incentives.

First I joined the Seven Continents Marathon Club.  I already have run marathons in North America, Asia, and Europe.  But I still have a small collection that I am missing. So first I signed up for the Maasai Marathon in Kenya.  It's with Marathon Tours and includes some exciting extra Africa adventures.  But I still didn't have anything planned for February and was hoping to find something in South America because I already have registered for Bunbury in Australia.

The only one that looked possible was Punta Arenas, Chile, and it is in February.  But it is part of a two marathon package that includes Antarctica.  I had attempted to register for it a few days ago but the registration link didn't seem to take me there.  But I gave it another try.  This time it did work. It's really expensive but I decided it was worth every penny.  So, took a deep breath and signed up.

Now I have 7 marathons and the last 4 continents on my agenda for 2015.  I guess I won't be bored!  Hopefully I will be in good shape by the end of the year!

I don't have a run scheduled for July so maybe I can still sneak in a climb of Mt Fuji that month.

4 Miles This Time

My routine has always been to have a light breakfast, wait an hour or so, then run the treadmill.  Tonight I tried skipping breakfast.  I was able to run but didn't feel very good doing it.  I really need something to eat after at least 8 hours of no food so that I have enough energy for a good run.  I felt slow and sluggish and happy to stop.  I did run 4 miles instead of only 3 as I've done most of this month.  I would sure love to wake up early enough to do at least 10 miles.  But lately it takes too long for me to get to sleep.  So sacrificing sleep may not be the best performance enhancing technique.  I will only be up here in Deadhorse for a few more days so I will try to find a way to get in some longer runs.  It still might not be too beneficial to try to run outdoors but at least I will have the option of the sports center.  I'm definitely lacking in ambition right now.  I hope I can get out of this slump!

3 Miles

Another short 3 mile run on the treadmill.  Really late hitting the gym today.  So late that I had to miss dinner to do it. I can't seem to get to sleep early enough to grab some breakfast, wait an hour, then run, and still have time for dinner, a shower, and getting to work on time.  I'll be glad to get home where I can take going to work out of the picture for a couple of months. I hope the lack of long runs doesn't mess me up too much for the Bahamas Marathon.  I feel quite poorly trained this month!

Merry Christmas

Another Christmas at work up in Deadhorse, Alaska.  We had a big fancy meal at the hotel as usual.  I decided that I should run before going down there and indulging.  It was just another short 3 mile run.  But a short run is better than no run.  I didn't end up eating much after all though.  It is so much food that just looking at it seems to fill me up! The shrimp was really good though.

This has been a really bad month for training.  I don't know whether it's because I'm tired of the treadmill or maybe I'm just tired and unenthusiastic. The perpetual darkness combined with only the treadmill is not conducive to enthusiasm!  But I am keeping in mind that next month I will be running the Bahamas Marathon and probably spending some quality time on the beach.

Meanwhile snow is falling here.

Short & Sweet

Today I did a very short run.  By the time I got done with everything else I needed to do, all I could do was grab a quick two miles on the treadmill.  I did try to speed it up though.  It felt good.  But I need to run some long runs.  There never seems to be enough time because they expect me to go to work every night!  What I need is a treadmill here in the weather office so I can just run all night!

I have been busy uploading more and more of my photos for sale to my new Facebook Page for my photography cancer fundraising business. I did sell my Barrow photo today.  I wish I could sell a lot more because the cost of each sale goes directly to my Team In Training fundraiser.

This is the Barrow photo, taken right on the beach in Barrow, Alaska.  It's a very special spot. Click the picture and you can donate to fight cancer!

Barrow Alaska

Treadmilling Again Today

I really didn't have time, but sometimes you just have to make time!  It was only another 3 mile shorty but at least I did get to the treadmill before I had to race off to work.  No time for dinner though. I need to start waking up earlier!!  Alarm clock maybe?

Cancer doesn't wait so help me in the fight to put an end to it. 

How about a Christmas gift for everyone with cancer?

Click here! to give one.

Another Short Run

Just another 3 mile treadmill run today.  I was so late getting started with my evening that I had to completely miss dinner to get in my run!  To be honest, I don't really miss not having dinner.  Breakfast was so soon after waking up that I guess I didn't really need dinner.

I've been trying to come up with ways to do a better ob of fundraising because so far, 99% of my cancer fundraising is coming directly from my paycheck!  That's OK but I would prefer to feel that I am getting the word out of the importance about raising money for much needed cancer research.  I don't exactly make enough money to single handedly fund all of the research myself! If I could, I would.

I do try to sell my photography to raise money for the cause, but sometimes I think I am the only one in the world who has ever heard of my photography business.  I do have my Habataku website. But I decided to try to spread it around a bit more on social media.  So I created a Facebook page for it.  I told all of my friends and have 95 Likes on the page.  But it looks like that's all I'm going to get.

I'm working on ideas to create something much more interesting in the form of photography so that one day people will really want to buy my pictures. 

But for now, I'll just concentrate on what I do have and keep training for the next Team In Training event.

Short Run

So much troubling news in my life this week.  It's been hard to wake up!
But I had to make a big decision - eat dinner or run.  I decided that run was the better choice.  It was only a short 3 miles but I did need to make it to work on time.

I added some more pictures to my photography website, Habataku, in case anyone wants to buy one to help fund my Team In Training fundraiser.  I'm not having much luck with that, but I have to keep trying. 

I added these new pictures from my Japan and Portugal trips to my Asia and Europe links.

Kyoto Fushimi Inari Japan

Ryukoji Temple Shikoku Japan

Sairinji Temple Shikoku Japan

Cabo Da Roca Portugal

Ponte de Lima Portugal

Roman Road Perozinho Portugal

Short and Fast

I really didn't have time to run today because I was too busy messing with my credit card company because they canceled my credit card.  But I decided that a run of any length might preserve my sanity after that nonsense.  It was a wonderful short 3 mile treadmill run.  I feel much better now.

Not too good outside right now though because it is currently -35 Fahrenheit.  That is too cold for anyone to go outdoors if it's not absolutely necessary.  So I was appreciative of the treadmill today!

5 Miles on the Treadmill Again

I found some lively music from a post to the Americans on the Camino Facebook page, downloaded the album and found the ambition I needed to run.  It was really hot in the exercise room though.  I wish there was some kind of air movement in that place, at least near the treadmill. But compared to the -20 temperatures outside, I don't want to complain too much!  At least there is a place to run indoors.  This month I've really been missing outdoor running and walking.  There is none of that up here in the winter.  Although sometimes I feel like I should just wake myself up in the middle of the day when there actually is some twilight, and go for a short walk.  I'm not so sure about even a short run out there on the ice covered road, but a walk sure would feel good.  I've been surfing around for more marathons for next year.  I feel some attraction to a couple in Italy in February, but have not committed to any of them yet.  I need to commit more to just dragging myself out of bed in time to run on the treadmill!  I'm feeling very lazy this month.

But cancer isn't going to wait for me to drum up some ambition, so I'll try to keep myself motivated, keeping the cause of finding a cure, high in my thoughts. 

As the year draws to a close, this is a good time to get in another tax deduction. Click on the picture below and let's put an end to this disease forever. 

End Cancer Now!

5 Miles

Finally, a rather short treadmill but of only 5 miles but with no pain to my ankle.  I'm not sure what that pain was all about but I guess my ankle has adjusted to the idea of running on the treadmill again.  I stopped after each mile for a quick stretch just to be sure I wasn't causing any problems.  I have to concentrate on good training this month because I have 4 marathons on the upcoming agenda.  If that isn't incentive to train, I don't know what is!

Of course curing cancer is my primary incentive.  It's not too late to get another 2014 tax deduction, so consider supporting my cause with a donation. 

Just click here to donate!

Another Short Run

My ankle started hurting really badly so I stopped my treadmill run.  But a few minutes later it felt good again, so I went back for another try.  This time it felt fine, but I took it nice and slow and just ran 3 miles.  I had to go in to work early so was pretty short on time anyway.  I'll be taking a rest day tomorrow.  I suspect that my running muscles just need to adjust to the treadmill again.  It is annoying when things like that happen though.  I have to be able to run because it is my main way of fighting cancer!

The end of the year is approaching, so this is a good time to get in one more tax deduction.  Please support me with a donation, large of small by clicking here!

Australia!

I just signed up for the Bunbury 3 Waters Marathon in Australia. Suggested by a new friend I met on a little cruise to the Greek Islands while in Athens for the Athens Classic Marathon.  Always wanted to go there but now my wish will come true. Adding another continent to my marathon running list.   

Upcoming Marathons

I am now signed up for 3 marathons for 2015.  January 18 I'm running the Bahamas Marathon, which should be a nice break from January Alaska weather.  Then later on, I'm doing my next event for Team In Training, The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 3rd.  Later that month on May 24th I'm running the Coeur d'Alene Marathon in Idaho. It will also be a great chance to visit my family in Southern Idaho and visit the lovely town of Coeur d'Alene.

So once again I'll be fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to try to eliminate the horrors of cancer from our world. 



Race 4 Cancer

 



Back on the Treadmill

Now I'm back up in Deadhorse in the icy cold winter weather.  So back on the treadmill for all of my running.  It's not really possible to run up here in December because it's dark all month and the roads are ice with no shoulder.  A runner would be a hazard both to himself and to the trucks on the ice road.  So I spend my training time on the treadmill watching TV and listening to my music.  It works!  I only ran 3 miles today because my right ankle started hurting.  It always take a day or two to get reacquainted with the treadmill. Tomorrow should be better.