2:30AM HEARTBURN...WORD 'EM UP

You gotta love my grandmother. She emails me with nothing in the subject line. It reads:


Dear J3 [yes, she calls me j3],

Had your nice newsy letter, but I want to remind you that [your brother] ruined his knees running those two long races he ran! for sure. I do hope that you will reconsider yuor idea to train for and run a marathan!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are surely other things you can do that would bring that much satisfaction - I wondered, why not golf? Andy othr sport. Have you told your brother what you are planining to do?


I remember that I "prayed without ceasing" the first time Todd ran - I found out you can pray only if you are not doing things that you have to think about-can duset the furniture, etc. I skipped church that first Sunday to pray.


Have you asked Todd what he thinks abut this?


End of sermon, but this grandmother hopes that you will surely reconsider your new thoughts about training for a marathon and direct your efforts in another direction. Love, [grandmother]



I determined that my long-jog shirt will have the text from the above email on the front and then the Team Root Down logo on the back (which I've yet to concept out--you know, training, working, getting the house ready for a garage sale, etc). I've started keeping a journal for my weekly training. Getting everything in order. We'll be jogging Monday, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Saturday morning. Saturday's will be the long-jog. Sundays and Tuesday's will be used at the gym for weight training with a focus on upper body and core. We'll start getting our paths coursed out. I want to do residentials primarily, but by experience, I run better on busy streets. Guess I like the audience, but it's not really safe. Journal will also help track the different shoes I'm wearing. I need to hone in one pair and, unfortunately, it might not be one I own. A pair of shoes should be able to go 500 miles. Why don't they make any dope running shoes? All the pairs I see are blinding white with silver accents. What about a red shoe with yellow and black accents. Something ill type. Journal will also track any specific dietary changes. Right now, it's the same ol'...eggs with cheese, orange, apple (sometimes with peanut butter), spinach and chicken at lunch and then a reasonable dinner (a pound burrito if I can squirrel one in). I hate protein bars and bananas, but might have to eventually break down. I had peanuts before my jog the other day and think it might have effected me positively. Must write that one down.


My ankle is a growing concern to my lovely wife. She just doesn't want it to fall off. Of course, neither do I. Official training begins the week of August 23rd so must get it looked at in July to ensure that I have the go from an official. I ice it at night, but honestly, it's felt pretty decent to this point.


Texas lost the College World Series. Oh well. I'd tell them the same thing I tell OU fans. Guess you can't win every championship in college sports. I love how my next door neighbors are such huge Longhorn fans however it was oddly pretty quiet during the CWS. Oh yeah, that's because they only root for the football team because they didn't actually go there. In fact, they didn't even go to college. In fact, they probably didn't even get their high school diploma. Man, I'm a little fiery this morning. Must have been the 2:30 heartburn.


Red Sox continue their onslaught of the National League either proving the NL's inferiority or the Sox's supremacy. Actually, it's not that lopsided, but they are 9-5 against the NL. And, it's just the Braves, Marlins and Nationals. But we did sweep the Phillies on the road. But, it's not like we're squaring up against the Dodgers. Papi's heating up, though. Up to a meaty .219 average. But he's hitting the longball in the right places. He knocked a 3-run jack last night and the Sox won 6-4...the difference. I'll take it.


Hip hop sucks. But what's new? Oh yeah, that Mos Def record is actually quite decent. But overall, people are abandoning the genre like it was a sinking ship. Everybody's up on this Gnarls Barkley tip. Everybody wants the iPod commercial. No one wants to make the ill ish anymore. They just want to blow up and get out. I need this De La show so bad. Help calibrate me again. I honestly haven't given a serious listen to probably more than three hip hop records this year. I mean, from beginning to end. I usually end up ejecting the disc and throwing across the desk and letting it land where it will. The new Meth and Red, the new Grand Puba, the new Black Eyed Peas (yeah right), the new Busta Buss...you take the best from each and it's still hardly listenable. I need to time to think as to why. Why can't anyone make decent hip hop in 2009? I need to dig deeper. I need recommendations. I'll ask around. Someone's gotta be making dope music in 2009, right?

The Beatlemania mix has been downloaded 500 times. I'm happy with that. Time to start scouting out the Halloween mix. I got mad material, but throw on top of it that I'll be training and will need material for those jogs, I'm gonna be busy. Will postpone the second volume of the Christmas mix another year. Will have to get out the Valentines' mix as well. Geez, I'm planning 2010, what'chu doin?