MILEAGE

I had a semi-secret goal to run 2008 miles in the year 2008. I was doing pretty good until I came down with a lame hammy in July. As my running buddy Craig pointed out, "no shit you got hurt, you were trying to run 2,ooo miles" (paraphrased, of course).

Anyway, I was trying to whittle away at the total when the whole "you're going to Iraq" thing came down. My initial reaction was, fuck the 2008 miles now. I won't have time to run and I should relax before I leave. Then, I realized that if I give up on my goal, then I'm allowing this Iraq thing to screw up my life more than it already has.

So, I've recommitted myself to nailing 2008 miles this year. Take a look at these stats then I'll explain my predicament:
DATE ...TOTAL .....PROJECTED MILES
1 Feb .......176 ................ 2008
1 Mar ......309 ................1849
1 Apr .......506 ................2008
1 May ......682 ................2040
1 Jun .......857 .................2044
1 Jul ........990 .................1975
1 Aug .....1136 .................1938
1 Sep .....1280 .................1907
1 Oct .....1446 .................1919
1 Nov ....1602 .................1911

So, here's the problem. I have log 400+ miles the last two months. I have a week of combat training which won't allow me time to run, plus 10-14 days en route to Baghdad without time to run. That leaves me about 40 realistic running days. Do the math - that's 10 miles per run (ON AVERAGE).

This will easily be my biggest running challenge, but I need something like this to keep my mind off what it will be like to leave Tiffany and the kids for 6 months . . .