My Crazy Friend, Jim

So, a number of you think that I am crazy. Well, maybe in some aspects. But I think that I hang out with some other crazies who inspire and encourage me as well. One being, my crazy friend Jim.
What I like and really get behind is when someone makes a goal and puts it out there. Which is EXACTLY what Jim did. Jim researched and discovered that there were 15 marathons run in Wisconsin, so he committed himself to running all 15 within 2 years time (since some are run on the same day each year, doing them all in one year was not an option).

So, 15 marathons in two years-- that's a big commitment. Well, come to find out that there are actually 23 marathons in Wisconsin. Oy! Did my buddy Jim step down? Heck, no. He just had to do a little more organization and scheduling-- and run his last 3 marathons on a third year. Crazy, crazy man.

But one I love. So, in support of Jim, I wanted to run (at least) one of the marathons with him. He sent me his schedule and the one that looked really appealing was Dances with Dirt, a trail marathon in Baraboo. Jim had it scheduled for July 10, 2010, which I knew I couldn't do since I have already committed to the Door County Half Ironman the week following. Bummer. So I tried to convince Jim to do DWD in 2011. No go. Jim had already promised his family a nice vacay in the Dells (by Baraboo) this year. Totally understand. I figured I would figure something out for 2011 when I was setting my race goals next year.

Fast forward to this week. I got an unexpected email from my friend, Laura, inviting me to her wedding July 8th in Chicago.

Laura and hubby-to-be, Doug. Does this shock any of you that we are friends?

Now, I have known Laura since I was 12. She was my summer camp counselor and it started off as a big sister-little sister type relationship and has grown into so much more over the years. So, missing her wedding = not an option.

That being said, Baraboo is only 3.5 hours away from Chicago. Wedding is Thursday night, race is Saturday morning. Hmmm...?

So, first I have to get the approval of two men: Ross and my coach.

Ross is in favor of it, if it is what I want to do. (He is such a loving and supportive husband.)

Now, the coach, a little tougher cookie to sell. While he is not in total favor of me doing a trail marathon one weekend and a half IM the following weekend, with the circumstances being what they are, he will support it as long as I am ok with not pr'ing at my half IM. The goal will shift from racing fast to "seeing how well I can do a half IM the weekend after a trail marathon". In the long run, it will make me a stronger athlete, at least mentally.

With the circumstances being what they are, I am totally ok with that. I would willingly sacrifice a pr to be along on my friend's journey. Will I remember my finishing time for my half IM years from now? Probably not. Will I remember the run with Jim? Of course. Decision done.

Can't wait for July 10th!

To follow Jim on his journey, you can log onto his blog: 26pt2obsession He has already completed 3 of his 23 marathons(!) and continues to be an inspiration to me and others!