I’d like to start this blog off giving mad – and I do mean, absolutely mad – props to the TextWrangler app. When I write my blogs, I will draft them in TextWrangler, my plain-text editor of choice, because not only will it assist me with potential spelling issues, but it also recognizes HTML and pretty much any other code you may be trying to include in whatever you’re writing. I say props to it because my favorite feature is that you don’t ever have to actually save anything. Just leave it open – which I always do – and as long as you just QUIT the app, it will close everything, and it will still be there when you open it again, regardless of whether or not you save it. I was 3/4 through writing this post this morning and my power went out. I said mean words thinking all was lost, but nope, upon restart, it’s all still here. TextWrangler is an absolute beast.

Sunday mornings have some serious potential. I ran yesterday morning, leaving my Sunday morning free to sleep in, however, the Beest decided it was time to go outside at 6:30. Despite my best efforts to talk him out of it, about 15 minutes later I was standing by the back door in my underwear waiting for my dogs to do their business. My brain was telling me to go back to bed but I was actually feeling pretty refreshed. I’m writing this from the office, blinds open looking out onto the beginnings what’s shaping up to be another beautiful day in Knoxville, I’m on my second cup of coffee, I have an old-time gospel playlist quietly singing on my Spotify app, and the Beest is asleep in his bed under the window. It’s a pretty perfect scene. Let me tell you, Sunday mornings have some serious potential.

On a not-so-positive note, I can definitely tell there’s spring in the air as I woke up with a sore throat this morning. Usually a tell-tale sign that we’re about to climb out of winter. This coffee and the leftover pizza from last night has done a serious number on my throat, though. Magic medicine I would say, and I’d prescribe it to anyone that needed it.

Spring was definitely in the air yesterday morning, one of the first mornings I’ve gotten to go out in shorts in a long time. My intention was 6 miles (or just a bit more – maybe a full 10k) but as I drove to my running spot I realized it was nearly 9:30, starting time for a kickboxing class at Title Boxing Club, and Title is conveniently located pretty much exactly where I start running. In the past I’ve mentioned that I keep a jump rope in my car that I warm-up with before longer runs and that was my goal yesterday, but why jump rope for 6 or 7 minutes when I could hop in at Title, chat with some friends, and then get in a 15 minute blood-pumping, high-intensity warm-up with stretching? So that’s what I did.

After doing the warm-up at Title, I hit the start button on Runtastic and started my run at the door. It’s a good mile, basically, from the door at Title to what I usually consider my start/finish line on the 10 Mile Greenway in Knoxville, which was cool because as my brain said “We’re starting” I was already 1 mile in to what I was now making a 5 mile run.

It’s not really worth commenting on the run because it was the same route I’ve ran a million times, I didn’t experience anything life changing, and I didn’t do any better or any worse than I have in the past. What I will say is that it was a good run, and that running is strange when you consider last Sunday run last week was less than 3 miles and I had to stop and walk twice, but then yesterday’s run was 5 miles and I ran all of it. I’ll also share this creepy photo I snapped as I passed a tricycle on my route:

My half marathon is 28 days away. Lawdy, lawdy.

Anyway, here’s this week. But stick around because there’s more at the bottom:

Last Week
Mileage	7 Miles (11.27km)
Avg. Pace	11:09/mile (6:55/km)
2016 Running
Runtastic Runs (1/01-Present)	42.18 Miles
Total Yearly Miles:	42.18
Miles Left Until 2016 Goal (350 Miles): 307.82

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I’m going to end this by saying happy 7th anniversary to my sweet, unreasonably supportive wife. She bought my membership to Title Boxing Club and has tolerated the near polygamy of me being sort-of married to the place since I’ve become a trainer. She’s been at the finish line at nearly all of my races, no matter how intolerable the weather may have been, and she’s listened to my endless griping about this upcoming half marathon with the patience of a saint. I’ve promised her Saturday mornings are hers again for basketball outings, learning to play tennis, and even hiking around Knoxville’s urban wilderness once this race is over. I can’t wait :-)

This also acts as a pretty good “before” photo of me. I was 280lbs on this day in 2009. Gross. Me. Out. Erin was smoking back then and even she’s changed a lot – she’s blazing hot nowadays :-)