The training has begun!

The Ibuprofen Warriors marathon team, of which I am the captain, has begun its workouts, training for the May 19, 2007, Fargo Marathon. We were all supposed to do 2 miles last weekend, 3 this weekend, and so forth up to about 10 miles, when we alternate long and short runs.

Here's my report to the team on my uneventful workouts and Jen's quite exciting one:

...I have just returned from a glorious 3-mile run on a North Dakota gravel road, accompanied by my trusty GPS and Katie on a bike. It's only about 3 degrees cooler here than it is in Rockville -- a balmy 43 degrees. The run was uneventful, but, man, it's going to be a long road to May. My legs are in reasonably good shape, but my chest has nothing to give.

Last week, I did my 2-mile workout in the basement on the treadmill that one of last year's Fargo clerks, with almost unbelievable kindness, left us on his way out of town. What the workout lacked in scenery changes, it made up for in heat.

Jen's been sick all week, and is putting off her run. Last week, however, she and Katie had quite the adventure. Katie didn't want to bike on the gravel road, so they took off north instead. Unfortunately, they got lost. Unfortunately, when they refound themselves, they were still several miles from home. Unfortunately, Jen had no cell phone or money with her. Unfortunately, it was in the low-20-degree range, and, finally, unfortunately, they had to do the segment into a ferocious headwind. And, by the end, in the dark.

Jen couldn't feel fingers, toes, or jaw by the time she got home. She was starting to think to herself, 'This is what I feared when we first started talking about coming to Fargo. I'll get stuck outside in the cold somehow, totally inadequately prepared, and I will freeze to death.' Ha, ha! What a kidder.