A New Low

The good news is Mrs. Viper and I completed our first week of training for the Akron Marathon Relay. The bad news is that last week's running wasn't enough to avoid a new low in monthly mileage.

For those keeping track, this is two months in a row of new lows. Let's get to the numbers! Here's last month's statistical rundown:

• Total Miles: 6 miles (2 runs)
• Total Time: N/A
• Highest Weekly: 6 miles
• Average Weekly: 1.5 miles
• Average Pace: N/A
• The Monthly Dif: -17 miles (23 miles in July)

To start our training, we haven't been keeping track of time, but that will change once we're feeling confident enough to suffer the blow of how we're slow.

So far, all of my training runs have been barefoot. The biggest challenge was yesterday's four-mile run on the Towpath, which features a surface full of tiny pebbles with some recently fallen buckeyes added in for kicks. My feet felt numbed from the excessive stimuli for a good half hour after we finished.

This was my longest run since I ran five miles on July 4.

To save us from doing too much too soon, the training plan consists of a rest day after each run day. Once my wife gets the OK from the doctor, we'll probably add some tennis into the mix as cross training.

Countdown to Race Day: 25 days!