For who does the alarm toll? It tolls for me.

Well I know one of you in Wogger Nation already asked my wife if I made it up and out of the house dark and early Monday morning. I love the excitement and enthusiasm but don't you feel like your Thursday was already ruined?

For those that waited patiently: The answer is no. I'm very embarrassed to admit this. However, I did make it on Tuesday! Here is a picture with my alarm clock to verify the time. Think of it like when the kidnappers make the hostage pose with a newspaper to verify they are still alive.

That's right. 5:13 baby! Only 28 minutes after the alarm first went off. I Wogged a few miles and was back in time to get my daughter ready for school. I felt pretty good although I was a little tired during the day. Hopefully I can get in the groove and soon it will seem normal to be Wogging in the middle of the night.

I have decided that I am not going to Wog on Wednesday mornings. My wife has choir rehearsal on Wednesday nights and it already makes it a long day. But going to try and do this everyday.

Speaking of my wife, let me just say here I am very proud of her. She, as you know, has also committed to doing the San Antonio 1/2 Marathon in November and she has been much more dedicated than I have been. She inspires me and helps to keep me accountable.

So it's been a long time since I ran at 5:15 in the morning. A few thoughts: Did you know it's still unbelievably hot even before the sun comes up in Houston in August? Did you also know that you can't really see sprinklers in the dark? While it might seem like it would be refreshing to run through a sprinkler in this heat, it would be better if you knew what was coming. I would be Wogging along and all the sudden: Bam! a face full of water. Oh well, I guess it's all cyclical back to my "we should drink water instead of sports drink" soapbox. Speaking of which, I thought I bought some classic red Gatorade the other day and got watermelon instead. Bleah!

Well, you've wasted another ten minutes. I hope you enjoyed today's post. Sunday starts the 10-week countdown so I will recap the 10-week plan to finish my 1/2 marathon. I hope you all stay with me on this journey, every step of the way.

11 Weeks ... Gulp

My wife and I are 11 weeks from Wogging the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon. Also affectionately know as the SAR&RM&1/2M. Ok, maybe no one knows it like that. From now on I will just call it The Half because I can't keep typing San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon. Dammit, I typed it again.

My wife and I still have a lot of work to do. The upside is we have accomplished many things.

1. We made the decision to do it (they always say this is the hardest part. B.S ... Running is always the hardest part).
2. We actually registered. It's one thing to decide, another to lay down cold hard cash.
3. We bought some cool gear! Even tubby people need to look good.
4. We have started to eat better and are in the process of changing our eating habits.
5. We have armed ourselves with knowledge. We bought books on running, stretching, diet, fitness and subscribed to Runner's World. - Which you may remember went on to inspire Wogger's World.
6. We got a plan to get us ready in 10-weeks (only one non-plan week left)
7. I decided to make the lifestyle change of getting up early (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) and doing my exercise before getting me ready for work and my daughter ready for school.

Ok. So far sounds good. But you Woggers paying close attention will notice there is no #8!

Do you see what I did there? I inserted the image of a Magic 8 Ball. Because #8 is missing from the list we can answer the mystery with the ball and it has the #8 on it so it's like a win-win!

#8 should say that I got up every morning last week and made it to the gym. The truth is I did not. Goose egg, nada, zero, bupkis. So this is the week. This is the week I add in the final piece: #8. I have no more excuses. Last week I did indeed have some good excuses. It was the first week of Middle School for my daughter. Last week was my first full schedule of clients at my new job. Last week was my wife's first week with kids back at school. In retrospect I didn't need it to also be the first week I get up earlier to go to the gym.

But my excuses are gone. Time is running out. Monday, August 29, 2011 I will get up at 4:45, go to the gym and be home by 6 to help get Isabel to the bus stop by 7 and me in my car by 7:05. I may not like it when the alarm goes off in 5 hours but I will love it when they hang the medal around my neck and take my picture. I will also love it when I run a full marathon with my grandchild someday and can look back at this time in my life and say, this is when it all began.

So do you think I'll actually make it to the gym in the morning? You'll have to wait until Thursday to find out. But I bet we can get a clue from the Magic 8 ball. What do you say Magic 8 Ball? Can I do it?

It's hard to read in the picture, it says: Reply hazy, try again.

Typical.

Hydration Nation Redux

When I first talked about hydration I complained like a grumpy old man about the virtues of water. I talked about how if you work out less than 90 minutes or are not a professional athlete you can probably just drink water and fine fine and save money. However, I realize that some of you may still want to drink sports drinks so today I am going to be like a grumpy old man about ...

That's right, Gatorade. The original sports drink. The deal, as we all know, was that Gatorade was designed to replace electrolytes. It was developed by the University of Florida (hence the colors and the name) (also hence why Florida State won't drink it) to rehydrate players. It was pretty amazing stuff and was ahead of its time. Yet now we poo-poo Gatorade. "It has carbs. It has sugar. blah blah blah." So now we have different types of Gatorade. In fact they have three of them.

Aptly named 1, 2 and 3. I mean really? I remember when it only came in three colors. (Green/Yellow, red and orange for you kids out there) You'll notice I said colors. I was never really able to associate a flavor with them. I mean red really doesn't have an identifiable taste, but then neither does Gatorade other than to say it tastes like Gatorade. But I digress.

You'll notice that the label also identifies it as "G Series Pro." Pro as in professional. By definition I don't think Woggers are professional athletes. Ergo my argument about water being fine. If you do need electrolytes but don't want the carbs try Smart Water.

On a side note, I'm embarrassed to admit when I first saw a bottle of Smart Water I thought somehow it would stimulate brain activity.

Anyway, I don't see why we feel a need to have three types of Gatorade. If three colors were enough to get us through the '80s and '90s shouldn't that be enough now? Surely. But apparently we were lucky to survive as a species without three types of Gatorade. Now we need to drink #1 before we work out, #2 while we work out and #3 after we work out (or as they like to put it "to recover" which makes it sound like you have survived a tragic event, which maybe you have: the tragedy of over marketing).

So I say to all of Wogger Nation: Just say no to three types of Gatorade. If Steve Spurrier could win National Championships in Football with one type of Gatorade surely we can go to they gym and live to tell about how we only drank the red, or even worse, from the water fountain.

Keep fighting the fight Woggers and I will see you Monday. Have a great weekend!

I am NOT a morning person.

The title pretty much says it all. I am not a morning person. I'm like Batman. While others sleep I stand vigilant throughout the night. Well, I at least like to stay up.

Some of you may be wondering what this has to do with Wogging. Well as you recall in my last post I was lamenting how I am having problems making exercise a priority. So, as my life is going through so much change in the last few weeks, I reckon this is the time to make exercising a priority and make other things fit around my Wogging and not the other way around. My assumption was that I would Wog the night away.

However, it seems that I have made a false presumption. As my daughter just completed her first day of Middle School she brought home many forms and calendars. Since she is also in the band, I came to the realization this evening, as I was going over the myriad events already planned for the school year, that my evenings may no longer be mine.

And that's ok. I guess it's just part of being a parent. But let me whine here for a moment. I already get up at 6. I always tried to make it a personal goal not to get up any earlier than that. If I could somehow figure out a way to work 10-7 instead of 8-5 I would do it. But this is my lot in life, and if I have to get up at 5, well I guess that's what I have to do. I would normally say here that I don't have to be happy about it. But you know what, that's not a good way to live life.

I have many blessings and am very fortunate that, in the grand scope of the World, my life is very comfortable. So if my greatest current hardship is getting up at 5 a.m. I will try to do it with a smile on my face.

Also, my good friend and Wogger'sWorld Citizen Saleem inspired me by the fact that he gets up at 4 after seemingly coming to the same conclusion I have. 4 a.m. Wow! There's no way I could get up at 4. My new personal goal is to never wake up before 5.

So tomorrow we shall see how it works. The alarm will go off early my friends so I shall leave you now. The 1/2 Marathon is looming and I have a lot of work to do but with your help and encouragement, and you all have been so encouraging, I know I can do it. I just wish I could do it in the evening!