Lessons learned while blogging

1. If you write about your running addiction long enough and you'll get to 100 posts
2. You'll then get a crazy idea to write a list of 100 things to celebrate it
3. I've learned that maintaining a blog is more involved than I originally thought
4. I've also learned that it's more of a social experience than I originally thought
5. I never thought there was a large running blog community
6. I never thought that through blogging I'd become involved in other people's lives
7. I never thought I would make friends just by blogging
8. I never thought I would run anything shorter than a Half-Marathon
9. The Laminator can convince even me to run a 10K two days before the race
10. It turns out I can actually run a 7:57 pace for a 10K on the hilliest course NYC can offer
11. I have also learned 10Ks are an entirely different kind of race than Half-Marathons or Marathon
12. The Laminator has a not-so-secret agenda to make me faster
13. The Laminator's plan seems to be working
14. I would have never met The Laminator if it wasn't for this blog...
15. ...and a free pair of shoes
16. I also wouldn't have met an entire world of runners
17. Including Jess, who can drink and write me under the table
18. And Jon, who can write an intriguing story, but doesn't seem to know how to end it
19. And Nitmos, who has been reading Don Quixote since Cervantes published it back in 1605
20. And Vanilla, who is as close to a running blog celebrity as we have
21. And Marcy, who is as close to a running blog groupie as we have
22. And J, who's house I am increasingly jealous of
23. And Moon, who has a genuinely amazing story
24. And Nancy, who is the world's first virtual race director
25. And Amanda, who had the most memorable wedding--ever
26. And Amy and Tom, who have done so much to build a community of runners
27. And Steve, who could run circles around me, even with a bum Achilles tendon
28. And Ted, who's borrowed my URL format
29. And Dean, who was a kid in a candy shop last month
30. And the dozens of others who have stopped by for a bit
31. Ta da!
32. Wait, I'm only at 32? Jesus Christ, 100 items, what was I thinking?
33. This is turning out to be one marathon of a post
34. Get it, marathon, because I run marathons? Get it??
35. I've learned that I'm much funnier in my head than I am on paper
36. Or in type
37. I derive entirely too much humor from this clip
38. But I can't help watching it again
39. "Look at the good I do." Priceless.
40. I've learn that I can run with glass in my foot for up to three months
41. Actually, I just realized that I never wrote about that: turns out that I stepped on a chard of glass back in November and that's what was causing my foot pain and swelling. Of course I didn't know about the chard of glass until three months after the fact when I pulled it out with a pair of tweezers. I can't believe I was running with a piece of glass lodged in my foot!
42. I've learned that I can run a marathon, even if I didn't run it the way I wanted to
43. I've accepted that it was MY FIRST MARATHON EVER and that I ran it like a Half-Marathon, which was a big mistake
44. I've learned that bees can sting you even when you're running a marathon
45. I've learned that scratching a bee sting will leave a scar
46. And that now that scar is officially referred to as my "marathon scar"
47. And who doesn't want a marathon scar? It just sounds sexy.
48. I've also learned that group runs are greatly beneficial (yeah, like I'm the first one to think that) not only in the social aspect, but also in improving speed
49. And getting free shoes
50. By the way, I'm half-way to getting a free pair of shoes
51. Just like you're half-way through this post
52. Group runs have also taught me that I can run without music
53. Although I still bring Liam along for races and non-group runs
54. And I bought some new music before yesterday's 10K so I was rocking out during the race
55. New Yorkers are stoic runners and are easily freaked out when someone passes them with arms pumping to some kick-ass song and digging deep for that final kick (apologies to the woman I spooked yesterday before the finish line)
56. I've also learned that I'm not your typical NYC runner in that I run in a diverse set of places and I'm not afraid to take the subway to start a run outside of my neighborhood
57. Taking this approach has really enabled me to explore the city, finding amazing places along the way that most runners miss
58. I have also learned that I'm the only person that uses the word "magical" to describe a run. It's not magical in the wizard way, it's magical in the "this feels a little surreal" kind of way.
59. I also appear to be the only person that says running makes them feel superhuman. Once again, it's not superhuman in the way that Superman is superhuman--it's superhuman in that .00001% of humans run for long distances.
60. You know what else makes me feel superhuman? This post. It's pretty long already and I've still got 40 more lines to write. Crikey.
61. I've learned that I can talk about people like Ryan Hall and Paula Radcliffe and people will understand me here
62. I've learned that the same does not hold true during conversations with non-runners
63. I've learned that I'm not a tech-savvy as I ought to be: I just set up Google Reader two months ago--geez I'm slow
64. You know what else is slow? Collecting all 50 states.
65. I've learned that I'm not crazy for wanting to run a Half-Marathon or Marathon in each state
66. And I have learned that there are crazies that have beat me to this goal eight times already
67. I've learned to plan ahead, way ahead (yes, I have my races planned out for the next 12 months) in order to maximize travel
68. But I've also learned that plans are just plans and do change, as with Fairfield and this weekend's 10K
69. I've also learned to stretch
70. Sweet God Almighty have I learned to stretch
71. Just as an update: I have been free of IT Band pain ever since PT, turns out that all I had was a tight muscle that needed some loving
72. I now make it a point to stretch out everything before and after a run
73. Not that I don't get the occasional funny feeling in my knee or shin or calf--but once I do get that funny feeling, I know to stretch out that area really well and not ignore it in hopes of it magically healing on it's own
74. I've also learned to not mix Johnny Walker and running
75. I've learned that most people already know this lesson and that I was a late bloomer in this respect
76. I've learned that my bowels are wimps on training runs
77. I've learned that my bowels are iron-clad on runs
78. I've learned that my experience at Disney was a classic example of how not to prepare for a Half-Marathon
79. I've learned with every subsequent race how to properly train and prepare
80. And I've PR'd at every race since Disney (Marathon and 10K are by default)
81. God is this almost over? Who's idea was this anyway?
82. I believe it was your idea
83. Stupid me for getting ideas
84. Although you're still reading at this point, so why the heck are you still reading?
85. Well, I assumed you were building toward some poetic conclusion that elegantly weaves life and running into a harmonious universal truth about man, you know, providing a unique insight into the human condition, how through running--in the metaphoric sense of an unwavering focus on a distant goal--you can triumph over any obstacle. THAT is what I'm expecting.
86. Well. Then. That's awfully grand of you.
87. Thanks, I like to think about the big picture
88. Well, you're just going to get more rambling for the remaining points
89. WHAT? No big pay out for reading all of these kernals of wisdom?
90. Well, you already did the whole universal truth bit, what's left for me to say? Plus that's just not my style
91. Well, then what is your style?
92. I guess that's another thing I've learned while blogging: I don't have seem to have a writing style
93. I've learned that I'm a fan of writing lists
94. But I've also grown to appreciate the long-format race recap
95. I've also learned that I really like picking off people
96. I've learned that people enjoy picking off me
97. Like that guy who got cut me off at the six mile mark at yesterday's 10K
98. And that old guy that passed me on a long run a few months back
99. I've learn that it's not cool to be chicked
100. Unless it's wifey, in which cases she can always chick me