Does this make me certifiable?

I just sent in an entry for Savage's Seven, 7 marathons in 7 days, put on by Chuck Savage in Ocala, FL. Starting the day after Christmas, there will be a marathon every day for the next 7 days, ending on New Year's Day. They will all be run on a track--the same track. 105 laps according to my calculations. I suppose I'll know every stain on that track by the end of the first day. After that, I'll need to find a way to zone out. Maybe I'll take a small digital recorder, and record my thoughts and reactions. I often try to take mental notes when I'm running, but seldom remember them after the run is over.

Look for the next update. And I'm starting a new blog for the book--The View From the Back of the Pack.


For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

Chicken Soup: Runners

I have a contribution in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners, to be released on July 13. I have received an advance copy, and I'm enjoying reading the other 100 stories. (Each Chicken Soup book contains 101 stories.) So far, I've laughed, cried, and been inspired. I will soon have the books for sale in my office, or they may be ordered from Amazon, or purchased in your favorite bookstore in July.

Also, I entered my memoir, THE VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE PACK, in the Florida Writer's association Royal Palm Literary contest. Here's keeping my fingers crossed for at least an honorable mention.

Ran 16 Sunday, and the last four were tough in this heat. Also, I forgot to take an energy gel, and I think I ran out of glycogen. I'll remember this week when I go for 18.


For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

Reading about running--again

I'm currently reading Jeff Galloway's book "Running Until You're 100." I'm not learning a lot that I haven't already found out through my experience, but it is inspiring me to do more speed work. Since my next marathon is two months away, I should have ample opportunity to made some progress.

On August 21, I'm doing the ET Midnight Marathon in Rachel, NV, near Las Vegas. What happened to airfare to Las Vegas? I'm still holding off buying a ticket because I keep hoping for a decrease in the fare. I'm going to have to do it soon, though.

I am excited about running a marathon that starts at midnight. It helps that I'll have my friend Carol with me. Of course, by four or five in the morning, I might not find it so exciting anymore.

Then I have at least 7 more in 2010, and at least 4 more in Jan-Feb, 2011. My total should be into the 90's by next March. Going for the big 100.


For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

Well, if anyone out there is reading this, I finished the 50 states in May, with the Flying Pig in Cincinnati, OH. My marathon count is now 79, on my way to 100. I'm also counting the states I have for the second time--not that I think I'll ever finish for a second time.

I've registered for a midnight marathon in Nevada in August. Long time between marathons. I'm going to actually have to train. Ugh! And in the heat. But then, it'll probably be warm in Nevada in August, even if the run does start at midnight.

Tutoring business is steady. Family is great--expecting a new greatgranddaughter any day now.

I got a story accepted for a Chicken Soup book--for runners. It'll come out on July 13. Woo-hoo! I've submitted two more stories to Chicken Soup. And I'm nearly reading to start querying for the memoir on running: The View From the Back of the Pack.

I've also been working on a vocabulary study guide for the SAT. I plan to work this summer on getting that published, too. The hardest part is getting the query letters good enough.



For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

Only four more states!

The Mesa Falls Marathon in Ashton, ID was wonderful in August. Plus I got to go to Yellowstone the next day. Magnificent! Since then I've done Hartford, CT, and Cape Cod, MA. Which brings me to 46 states, 66 total. My remaining four states are:

North Carolina -- OBX, Nov. 8
Kansas -- Gobbler Grind, Nov. 22
Hawaii -- Maui Oceanfront, Jan. 24
and finally...
Ohio -- Flying Pig, May 2.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to add to the marathon count, in hopes of reaching 100.

I recently bought new SofSoles inserts and my feet are thanking me. The heel spurs are not hurting nearly as much. I actually walked about a half mile back to the hotel from the finish in Cape Cod, and my feet were hurting a little, but not like in past marathons.


For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.

For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

Another hot day, but a long run completed

(For anyone who hasn't read this blog before, I'm a older, slower marathoner working on my quest to finish a marathon in all 50 states. I'm at 43 states now, with a total marathon count of 63. I've done battle with hyponatremia in the past, and still have to take electrolyte replacement capsules frequently when I run. Also, I use the Galloway walk-run method, adjusted according to the distance and conditions.)


I don't like long layoffs between marathons. I've found it easier to stay at the long-distance level, rather than dropping back to shorter distances and then having to work my way back up the ladder. But that's what I allow to happen every time my schedule has a long gap in it. Like this summer, when the gap is between Sunburst on June 6 to Mesa Falls on August 22. Now I'm going through the mileage-building process once again. And this time, I've added another facet to the challenge.

Unexpectedly, I managed two sub-5:30's recently--one at the Florida Marathon in December 2008, and the other at Ocala in February. I didn't keep that up, but my times did stay a bit under my norm of last year. So in June, faced with the long stretch between marathons, I saw my choices as these. Either I could not worry about speed, look for marathons with generous time limits, and just finish my remaining 7 states, walking if necessary. Or I could try to work on speed and be confident of attaining times well under 6 hours. I chose the second option.

The plan was two-fold. First, I would do some speed work during the week on the treadmill. (For several reasons, I can't run outdoors during the week, so I rely on the treadmill.) Second, I would lengthen my running intervals. For the last couple of years, I'd been doing 4x1's, 3x1's, and even 2x1's. But I thought if I could increase the interval to 6x1's, even 7x1's for shorter runs, that would surely build my endurance more.

The speedwork has been spotty, to say the least. I do get on the treadmill nearly every night, but most nights I do nearly all walking and little running. When I have run, I haven't pushed the pace very often. So much for that part of the plan. However, I did manage to have success with the extended intervals, doing a couple of runs at 6x1's and 6x1's.

Which brings us to the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, I set out for 18 miles at 5x1's, and did it, despite the oppressive heat.

One week ago, I intended to increase the distance up to 22 miles, still at 5x1's. I managed to slog through 16 before the heat nearly overtook me. I was determined to keep the interval at 5x1's. I somehow made it to about 18.5 before I just couldn't continue.

But Mesa Falls is coming up fast--in just two weeks. Yesterday was do or die day. I went out intended on 24 miles, but I knew that I'd need to do a couple of things different from last week. First, I started an hour earlier--at 4:00 instead of 5:00. I knew I needed to get in a lot of miles before sunrise. Also, I planned to shorten the run interval a couple of times in the later miles. I stayed with 5x1's for the first 12 miles, then went to 4x1's for the next four miles. I could feel the heat taking it's toll, and part of my brain kept trying to convince me that maybe 20 would be enough, or at least 22. But I knew I needed to get in the distance, no matter what it took. I changed the interval to 2x1's and managed to finish steady. Yeah!

There may be runners out there who find long runs (anything longer than 20) easy after a while, but I'm not one of them. They are never easy for me, and never a sure thing. Each long run finished is a triumph.

And now I'm looking forward to much cooler temps in Idaho in a couple of weeks. I figure that's worth at least one minute longer run interval.


For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.

For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

Admiration and Respect

I've just visited the blog of a friend, and how I do admire her. She set a schedule for posting to her blog, and she meets her goal. I set a schedule (once a week), and I'm doing well if I post in two months. How is it that I don't find the time for such things? I also want to learn Spanish, refresh my calculus, and work on three SAT workbooks. I rarely spend time on any of those tasks, either.

My business, which is truly a labor of love, seems to gobble up all my available time. Perhaps I should set a firmer schedule of "working" hours, and then set aside avocation hours.

Well...something else has taken up a lot of my time recently. I'm on a roll doing marathons. I've done five so far this year:

First Light Marathon in Mobile, AL
Ocala Marathon in Ocala, FL
Gasparilla Marathon in Tampa, FL
Lost Dutchman in Apache Junction, AZ
Sarasota Grouper in Sarasota, FL

I've made firm plans for five more:

Spirit of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Oklahoma City Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK
Avenue of the Giants, near Eureka, CA
Delaware Marathon, Wilmington, DE
Big Wild Life Marathon (formerly Humpy's) in Anchorage, AK

My total count is up to 44 and I have 27 states to date.

Still, I should be able to manage my time better. For the last six months, my writing has been a distant third priority to tutoring and running. Periodically, I dream about finishing the book I'm working on, and then I promise to spend more time on it. That usually lasts all of one day, or else I don't even get started because I need to finish other pressing matters first. Aargghh!

On the bright side, or the stressful side, Wise Owl Tutoring is growing so much that I'm looking for a larger space to move to this summer. We moved into our current location about eighteen months ago, and I thought we'd have plenty of room for the next five years. So much so that I was disappointed that I couldn't have a five-year lease. Good thing. Now we're almost at the point of having to turn people away because we have no more room. Seven tutors (besides me) and only six tutoring spaces.

I know it's a good problem to have, but some days I get dizzy. Should I buy my own building? Can I afford to buy? If I lease a larger space, how much will the rent increase? Where's that crystal ball?

Then I take a deep breath and know that it'll all work out fine. My life is an uncanny history of things working out for the best as long as I do what appears to be the right thing and have faith. Surely, I must have angels who guide me and show me the way. I know I don't deserve any credit.

As a former coworker said, "Onward and upward."


For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.

For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.