Monday, December 7, 2009

I'm Alive

"You know it's funny what a young man recollects? 'Cause I don't remember bein' born. I don't recall what I got for my first Christmas and I don't know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But I do remember what Enda Johnson said to me my first day of cross country camp."
- Forrest Gump
"You can only do two of three things well. School, Party, and Run. Pick two."

I don't know where Enda picked up this timeless kernel of information, but time and time again in my life it has proven itself to be true. I haven't posted in a while, mainly because of the fact that I have been insanely busy. Even as I write that statement, I think to myself, "what a panzy". I have friends all over the US and the world that seem to be busier than I and still find the time to run. Well my friends, I am no Superman like you.

For the last month or so, running has been limited to 5 or 6 days per week of jogging 6-8 miles. While part of me was content with keeping up this semblance of fitness, no matter how pathetic it may sound to most of the people I coach, it wasn't made to last. The last two weeks, with looming finals, papers, and work deadlines, running has become an occasional break from sitting at a computer writing and editing HTML. So, while running might not be of particular interest at the moment, I encourage my faithful readers (and you must be faithful after not seeing a post for a good two months) to check out my new business project I've been working on in my spare time after the real 9-6 and school work.

I've partnered with the Baltimore Marathon to be the official Marathon Training Plan provider for the race. Baltimore is one of the top 10 biggest race weekends in the country, with it's half marathon and full marathon participation numbers topping 20,000 in 2009.

The new business model provides expert training plans to runners of all levels - beginner to Boston Qualifier. What makes our training unique compared to any other online training plan is individual access to your coach. With the ability to ask questions, read expert training tips, and connect with running groups, we offer a unique training program that makes training for a marathon an experience in itself. With us, "You've got people".

With the deadline for completion being December 13th (that's opening registration day), and my html skills rivaling that of any CS2 student, the crunch is on to get everything up and running smoothly.

If you would like to offer up some comments, suggestions, praise, or bugs - here are the website links.

Sign-up page: http://www.marathontrainingplans.net/

Members page (Will be password protected, so check it out soon): http://www.marathontrainingplans.net/baltimore/

Obviously, the design is to make the business scalable, so I can partner with other marathons around the country. I am excited about the potential and hope the work pays off.

Hopefully, after finals and this deadline, I will be able to get out the door more during December and put some good mileage on the legs. Until then, stay tuned faithful readers...