Warsaw Half-Marathon

Ahhhh . . . the beauty of standardized testing is to give the teacher, errr, I mean the kids, a time-out from the daily grind. So, while they engage in the tedious process of filling out bubbles with a #2 pencil, I will give you, dear readers, an update.

Last weekend, a couple of friends from work ran the Warsaw half marathon with me. For them, it was their second road race ever, coming on the heels of competing in the Run Warsaw 10K last fall. I applaud them for their chutzpah, running double the distance with virtually no build up to this mileage. This may be due to the fact they seek out advice on running from yours truly. I'm not exactly a fountain of conventional wisdom when it comes to adequate preparation and proper nutrition.

So when the three of us toed the line, I think we embodied one of my favorite running expressions, "off the couch". To do a race "off the couch", means that you have taken the time to put aside the six-pack and bag of chips in order to perform some sick test of endurance with little or no training. I have seen some amazing off the couch performances and, unfortunately, have utilized this training program way too often. That's what happens when you look at endurance athletics as a way of earning "beer credits". The more miles you run, the less you have to worry about looking like you spend a good portion of your life sitting on a barstool.


My two colleagues, Pawel and Pawel, are both P.E. teachers at AS-Dub. Both of them "walk the walk" when it comes to knowing how important exercise is in your daily life. But I'm sure all of us can remember having a gym teacher back in school who was a walking contradiction of everything he preached. I won't name any names, but those of you who attended Hibbing High School know who I'm talking about.

Anyway, the Pawels had a great time, finishing in just a shade over 2 hours. More importantly, they did not cross the finish line saying "I will never do that again!". So it's all going according to plan, he said with a menacing smile. In a few short months, you should be reading about them completing their first marathon . . . off the couch, of course.

Thanks for reading! And answer the poll question!