It's been more than a month since I started this site and I haven't made a second entry yet. That's pretty sad. Can I use the lame excuse that I've been busy training and fund raising? I finally got all of my fund raising letters mailed out for Team For Kids. I sent out a total of 125. Now I just have to sit back and wait for the money to pour in. Gosh...I hope it's that easy. I'm already having a heart attack. What if no one donates? What if I don't actually have any friends who think TFK is a worthy cause. It is...I assure you. Last year they provided running programs for 15,000 kids across the country. These are at-risk kids who don't even have a once a week gym class at school. (What...no dodge ball? Ok maybe that's a good thing). But think about it, if kids never workout, not even for a half an hour once a week at school, we're going to have some pretty unhealthy kids who may possibly never learn that getting fit can actually be fun and rewarding. So...if you're reading this...and haven't donated yet...please go to www.teamforkids.org. Click on "Contribute," enter my marathon entry number "10299," and my last name "Bogin," and consider making a donation of $1, $2, $5, or $10 per mile (a marathon being 26.2 miles). Remember...I can't run unless I raise my allotted amount. And for those of you who have already donated...thank you thank you thank you thank you. OK...that's it for my plug.

My training is going well. I started the first week in July. I'm up to about 30 miles a week. So far my longest run has been 10 miles. Over the course of the next three months I'll build up to around 45 miles a week, and I'll complete three 20 mile runs (assuming I don't get injured). My goal is to finish the marathon in just under 4 hours. How fast is that? Well...the winners will finish between 2:10 and 2:20 depending on the race day conditions (if that puts it all into perspective) so I'm pretty slow (but not the slowest). I think they give people 12 hours to finish. Most reasonably fit people could walk it in about six hours. Supposedly Oprah did a marathon in just under 4 hours (although this is sometimes disputed - some say her time was closer to 4:20 - a ten minute per mile pace). I like thinking she did it under 4...then I can tell myself "If Oprah did it I can do it too." That's probably how the rumor got started. Anyway...it's a great motivator. GO OPRAH!