#57

No, the Lakefront Marathon this weekend is not my 57th marathon, instead 57 means the number I am in the order for the Jennipede.

Yes, it is finally time for the Jennipede World Record Marathon attempt tomorrow morning. There are 62 of us ready to link it up run all 26.2 miles for Jenny Crain. As a team, we have raised over $100,000 to help pay for Jenny's daily care and rehabilitation. It is truly special to be a part of this team and an honor to be able ti run for Jenny. Even if something happens and we do not get the world record, it will still be worth all the effort everyone put into this adventure. I believe everyone on the team feels the same as I do.

Yesterday I went down to the Expo to pick up all my gear and race uniform that all of us Jennipedes will be wearing. the Expo at the Lakefront Marathon has a relatively small expo if you compare it to like Chicago or Disney, but enough booths to get what you need. I picked up a white and pink Christmas Ornament for my daughter that says "Runner Girl" and also the Bart Yasso book "My Life of the Run". Bart Yasso is the honorary captain of the Jennipede team and will be running the final bit of the marathon pushing Jenny across the finish line with the team. He will also give the team an inspirational talk right before the start. He had a small booth at the Expo selling his book with $5 from each sale going to the Make It Happen Fund for Jenny.

I had gone to the Expo when it wasn't too busy so I was able talk to Bart for about 10 minutes or so uninterrupted. That was cool as he gave me some advise to help me in my training. I used to run Yasso 800's in my training but since I am a middle distance runner from my past, they are really easy for me to do a lot faster than they claim I can run a marathon at. He suggested less rest (which I am already doing) and also to add some longer runs at a little faster than marathon pace. He suggested a 2 mile warm up followed by 10 to 12 miles at a little faster than my marathon pace and then a 2 mile cool down. I will have to add this to my training schedule in the next sequence.

It was a little fun at the Expo as I felt a little like a celebrity. I had a lot of people asking me about being on the Jennipede Team and wishing the team luck. There is also a lot of local news coverage about us as well. The local NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox stations have all done some coverage on us. the local paper has written a few stories and even Runner's World is covering us. This is all great as the more people that see us, the more that will donate to the Make It Happen Fund.

Other than all that, it was an exciting day as I went to the Milwaukee Brewers playoff game at Miller Park. Great Game! Brewers Won! Now I am watching college football as #7 Wisconsin is playing #8 Nebraska in their Big 10 debut. Cornhuskers are up by 1 right now, hope that changes as I will most likely not be able to see the second half as it is time to go to sleep as I am picking up my friend Chris at 4:40AM to head down to the marathon.

I also had one of the last Cross Country practices for the team I coach. The final big meet is on Wednesday, sort of like a conference meet for middle schoolers.

Keep on Running!!! I will for all 26.2 mile tomorrow.