I weaved through fancy running machines at the Margaret Maddox YMCA with my eye out for flowing silver hair. It was the coldest night of the season and Jim said he wanted to run 8 miles on the treadmill. Eight miles, just 3 days after his marathon.
He wasn’t hard to spot and I circled around to wake him from the trance.
I said, “Hey.”
He said, “Hey man,” which was followed by an awkward pause while he tried to turn down his iPod.
I poised myself for confrontation.
In my best Kosmo Kramer impersonation, I screamed, “Look at you!”
“What?,” he replied while coasting along at a 9 minute pace.
“You’re snake bit!”
He smiled and said, “What do you mean?”
“Your not even thinking about Ironman! You’re addicted to marathons!
He was a kid who just got caught sneaking brownies off the top of the fridge.
“You may be right.”
I said, “What would Kevin think of this behavior?!?” (in reference to our fellow Ironman training partner).
Jim said, “He probably wouldn’t care.”
I just shook my head and said I’d see him after my swim.
These running people are crazy, and I’m not sure what it says about me . . . but I get it. Something about simply putting on shoes and getting after it is really quite scintillating.
Jim didn’t forget about Ironman, but he is totally smitten with the glory of marathons. And let me tell you, nothing gets a woman’s attention like salt piling up on your forehead while plodding down the road for 26.2 miles! I mean, it’s kinda the same attention you get from picking your nose, but hey, if it feels good, let it rip.
He didn’t qualify for Boston at Huntsville, so now he is all in on New Orleans, and I wouldn’t bet against him. This has just become personal and Jim has a reputation to keep.
But, let’s get back to me!
I did, in fact, go for a swim last night. I lollygagged through 1,500 yards and decided that since I am still into triathlons, I would jump on the spin bike. I peddled for 20 minutes and talked myself into ending the night with a nice little one-mile treadmill run. One solid hour of three disciplines and let me tell you, I feel like a million bucks today.
Tonight, it’s back to the road for a 4.5 miler with the East Nasties. I’m not sure if Jim’s running, but I can assure you I will be seriously contemplating dropping the 1/2 and signing up for the New Orleans full. After all, I kinda like the idea of qualifying for Boston myself.
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In other news, Ironman Wisconsin team member, Daniel, has a special announcement coming out soon. 
He came over last night for a top secret video project I hope to finish tonight so he can post on his blog.