Knee Pain, Training Wraps Up, and Sunday Musings

So I have been going through some knee pain...some may have seen this via Facebook, but it conveniently popped up during my heaviest training week. The book I am reading by Hal Higdon, marathon guru, said this might be possible, but I think I just ignored it and hoped it wasn't true. A felt a tweak on the outside of my left knee cap at the end of a 5-miler and ran through it on Thursday's 10-miler. I was scheduled for my 20-miler today, but at 18.25, I had to call it quits; my left knee was literally collapsing from weakness/pain...yea, it sucked.

Well, now I begin my taper for the marathon, and I couldn't be happier. I don't think I realized how much time this would take; I mean, I knew it was a lot of running, but I think I naively just thought it be easy to block off 3.5 hours on a weekend for a 20-mile run, along with the 10-mile midweek run. 3 weeks from today, hopefully, I will have finish my first marathon. It could be my only one, too.

That's about it...I think I have done a decent job of following the election. What cracks me up is how intense people, from clearly such obvious party lines, blatantly ignore the criticisms of their own party. I get that a lot of people choose one party and stick to it, and as a person that has never voted before (feel free to criticize), I probably should not say anything. But seriously, both the DEMS and the REPUBS have such serious, major flaws that's its laughable to just rip one party as stupid. Both have major policy flaws, and to be honest, can try to push through certain acts and bills, but people, GET REAL. Abortion is not going to be repealed; some things around it may change, but I don't think Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Also, Obama, make up your mind...are you Christian, or are you Muslim? I saw you, in a live interview, say you were Muslim. I can't ascertain which one you are...part of that old crazy whack job church (which has honestly set the thought of church so far back, regardless of what faith you are, 100 hundred years), or part of the other which had an extremely radical group of your religion blow up the twin towers, and most recently, form an attack during Ramadan in Pakistan? I just don't get it...but, things are about to get interesting!