Hey Everyone!

“It’s raining Mir.”

Last week I wrote about “Scott and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Run.”

Just about everything that could have gone wrong did. On the upside, I didn’t get hit with any space debris re-entering the atmosphere. So, there’s that.

Needless to say, I was anxious to get back to it this week. And to be honest, a little apprehensive. Especially since I was planning on running alone.

Now while there are plenty of upsides to pounding pavement solo (flexible start time, ability to improvise on your route, zone out and jam to tunes), one of the downsides to running without company is that the voice of doubt gets your undivided attention.

Matthew Inman, mastermind behind “The Oatmeal” (a stupendously funny website) created a perfect personification of this self-doubt. He named it “The Blerch.”

“The Blerch”… aka a real bastard.

The Blerch is a lazy and bloated cherub who hovers just outside of you peripheral vision, tempting you to abandon any and all workouts in exchange for extended. couch time (usually combined with a multitude of snacks).

Click here to learn about The Blerch.

The Blerch really is a little bastard.

As of late my personal Blerch has been trying extra hard to worm his way into my head and subconscious. And sadly, he’s been a little more effective than I’d like to admit.

Fortunately, I found an alternative to listening to this little bugger chatter in my ear non-stop for today’s 10-miler. Run with friends!

In a few weeks, Team To End AIDS (my running family) will start training for February’s LA Marathon. And yes, I will be running with them again. This year marks my 7th go-round with the LA Marathon.

Well, I do like snacks.

T2, however, doesn’t just offer training for one event, but rather several. Right now they are about halfway through the training for December’s Honolulu Marathon. So, I ended up hooking up with the Honolulu T2 crew (say that fast 10 times) today and ran with them.

It was great to catch up with some old running friends (several people are running both Honolulu and LA) and I even met a few “future running friends.” It was great to have a group to chat with and the early miles simply flew by.

Now they were only scheduled to do a 5-mile recovery run today, so once we crossed the finish line I had another five or so miles to go solo (including a trip up the big hill in Griffith Park…Mount Elfi).

But as it turns out, my solo ended up as a duet. My buddy Stephen was running today and he decided to join me for the additional cinco-ish miles. I always enjoy running with Stephen as we gab away like crazy. He’s also faster than me, so he’s able to keep me motivated and pushing. And it certainly helped today as I’m still trying to regain my “former form” (say that fast too).

T2 to the rescue!

We looped Griffith Park and I finished with a 10.5 mile jaunt, which puts me on track for the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon in three weeks.

The nice bonus is T2 is scheduled to run 12 miles next week, the exact amount I was planning as my last long pre-race run. So next Saturday I’ll dress up in my T2 garb and head out with the gang.

And The Blerch can stay the hell home and mind the sofa. He’s not invited.

Beat the Blerch… and Run on!