It's tech week...again.

sAs I mentioned in an earlier post, my girls are now in a community play production. (Larry, my son, was Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" back in December. That play, indeed, was a long haul, compared to this time around.)

This play that the girls are in is an all children's cast, has had a shorter rehearsal schedule and a shorter run time. (2 weekends of 3 performances vs. 4 weekends of 4 performances.)

At any rate, we're in tech week for "The Bird with the Golden Feathers," and it has come so fast it has caught me by surprise.

For that matter, how I've ended up as a backstage volunteer for 3 nights in a row has also caught me by surprise. {sigh} Especially, since my daughters are narrators and are on the stage during the entire production and never come backstage! Oh well, no matter, "It's my duty." as they say. ;-)

Now on to running notes. This week this thought has occurred to me over and over: I just need to stay injury free. Now, I know those are big words. ;-) There are no guarantees.

I've been looking forward to my schedule, but mostly I see the same races as last year, a couple of them at least. I noticed how I was viewing those races with nearly the same excitement and anticipation as if I were getting to run them for the first time. It didn't take me long to understand where that was coming from--it is from the perspective of having done those races last year, for the first time, in great pain! Not just your regular "healthy" pain that comes with an ultra, but with the kind of pain that is yelling at you "STOP you are tearing your body up!" Yes, I ran races that way last year.

So this year, I have grand hopes. I am in better shape than I was last year but I am even far more focused on staying injury free--if I do that I am, no doubt, going to have some personal bests.

I'm putting it here publicly in my blog so I will hold myself to it: I will do quality stretching every day. I mean not just token stretches here and there after runs, but I will take some time. Yes, no guarantees it will prevent injury but it will help.

Also, I am now doing Prison Workout #3. That is not a daily deal but I'm trying to get in two a week. These sessions are barbell based.

I'm back to coaching kids too, there are not as many kids that are motivated to sign up to do a winter running program as for X-Country or track. The goal for the winter running program is to do a 5k in March and not many kids have signed up, nothing I can do about it since I'm not at the school during the day.

I have also found I can't get much of a work-out for myself during those sessions, so I do my own run, shower and change and then head out to do a second work-out with the kids. All the more reason to stretch...

Next up, Hagg Lake.

Thanks for stopping by!