Happy Mother's Day

Bren, my wife is not a runner. She won't run. She doesn't understand why someone likes to run. She may run if someone is chasing her but only after she has determined that she couldn't whip'em. With that being said, she fully supports my running...she does not claim to understand it...just supports it.

After reading Dean Karnanzes book, Ultramarathon Man, I came to a realization that my running should have minimum impact on the family schedule. What this means is that I do my long runs on Saturdays and that they commence some time around 4:30 AM. That way I can finish most of these long runs before 9:30 AM. 4:30 in the morning is no more pleasant waking up for runners as it is for anybody else, but the thought of missing a training run is worst than than rolling out of bed at that ungodly hour. This is where my wife's tough love disguised as encouragement comes into play. More than once, when the alarm went off at 4 bells, I lay there contemplating whether I really need to go 20 plus miles and get up so early. Bren will then mumble something about, "you will hate yourself for the rest of the day." Those few words always do the trick and off I go running into the night.

On Mother's day, we tend to reflect back on our moms and our wives. I have a great mom. I have a great wife. My wife is a stay at home mom that runs the central command of the Elliott Base which constitutes four children of Luke (7) , Macy (5), Hope (2) and Dave (38). OK, three actually children and one that at times can be considered a child. She never misses a beat with scheduling, being the family taxi driver, aiding in school work, organizing play dates, being the estate chef, and generally making sure things go smoothly. As anyone who has participated in the endurance sports realm knows, they rarely go it alone. There has to be a top notch crew that encourages and supports such endeavors. My wife is that crew.

Bren, thank you for your support. I love you. Happy Mother's Day.