The weather is really bad this weekend. So I went to the gym.

The goal was to train for next week’s Happy Hour Run, where I will be running 10K.

My training goal was 1-mile warm up, 5 miles at 8:10 minute/mile, and 1-mile warm down.

I managed the warm up and about 2 miles at 8:10 min/mile. Then I ran out of steam. The sound of Green Day screaming through the headphones didn’t help.

It looks qualifying for Boston is far far away. I need to run 3:30 hours to qualify, which is about an 8 min/mile pace for 26.2 miles. Whew!

I suck.

It looks like it will be rainy weather again all weekend.

So much for the 18 miles I was going to run on Sunday.

Well, maybe if I wake up early enough…

Maybe I’ll go to the gym instead and run 6 miles at 8 minute/mile pace.

That’ll set me up right for next week’s 10K event at the Happy Hour Run.

I ran about 3 miles this morning at the track with 6 fast laps.

Conclusion: I’m not crippled after all!

Looks like I can go up to Tahoe again this weekend…

Seriously, this coming weekend’s 18-miler might still be a problem. The way I jog a 9:30 min/mile and the way I run a “fast” 400m is very different. And today isn’t over yet.

As an aside, I had planned to run the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country half marathon in July. Unfortunately, it’s sold out. **sob**

It’s going to be sooooo boring in July.

Well, maybe next year…

I tried snowboarding over the President’s Day weekend. I really did. I tried. I even paid good money for private snowboard lessons.

But it looks like snowboarding is not for me. At least not while I am training for Big Sur.

I started off by badly twisting my right ankle.

Beginners start off with one foot in the bindings and one foot out. Obviously, I had to fall in such a way that the board ended up in an unnatural angle with respect to my body…

When the instructor finally told me to put both feet into the bindings, I still fell spectacularly with the board in the wrong angle. This time, I yelled out in pain.

Maybe age has something to do with it: younger people have more flexible joints and so adapt quickly when they fall. No so this old geek…

I think I’ll stick to skiing. At least those skis fall off when I take a tumble, instead of trying to twist this old body in ways to which it can no longer adapt.

I’ve got an 18-miler this weekend. I am not sure if I will be able to run…