Pass the oatmeal, please!

The time to get serious about the Mercedes Marathon is now.

However, please don’t take those words the wrong way. It’s not like I’ve been taking it easy resting on my derriere, aimlessly wondering when the moment to focus on such an important event should begin.

What I do mean is every run between now and race day should be filled with a sense of urgency, a degree of purpose, in the most fervent of hopes of making up lost time while on injured reserve.

No more time fillers or mileage makers in preparation for the 5-Person Open Relay, but instead a series of concentrated, well-planned runs utilizing what little I have in the tank, and then just when I don’t think I can go another step without passing out or losing my groceries, somehow suck it up and keep chugging ahead.

Let me tell you, the firming of one’s constitution is not an easy path to travel. I’ve taken the let-me-figure-out-what-I’ll-do-when-I-get-out-there runs and tossed them in the garbage can, along with an old pair of New Balance 991s that have been haunting my closet for entirely too long.

The time is past for all of those easy jaunts through the local forest or daydreaming while canvassing the Woodstock or Golden Springs routes. What I’m doing now is humming “Eye of the Tiger” (Barf!!!) while giving it all that I have!

The first step in preparing for what will hopefully be a good run this Sunday is the most torturous exercise in futility known to running kind: the dreaded hill run.

If you see a person slowly climbing Tenth Street Mountain as if cinderblocks are attached to his feet this week, it’s almost a sure bet it will be me.

Hill running builds strength and stamina like no other exercise, but to say that your body afterwards is as sore as an Egyptian pyramid builder would be an understatement. But I have one positive statement about running hills: there is always the welcome backside to greet you.

There is no proven training technique that helps decrease race times better than tempo runs. A wise runner once told me, “The only way you will get faster is to run faster.” Simple words of advice indeed, but a phrase that is so true.

Tempo runs have many names, but the one I find most amusing is the term “Fartlek”. Fartlek in Swedish means “speed-play”. I don’t know about you, but training and competing with a Fartlek partner should drastically improve one’s times. With a name like Fartlek and taking into consideration the English word that it closely resembles, I can’t imagine anyone relishing the thought of trailing the lead Fartlek.

Seriously though, tempo runs involve running varying lengths at different speeds, in the prospects of conditioning one’s body to be able to run an overall quicker pace. Recently, I engaged in a serious dose of tempo running with Linda Hearn at the new track at McClellan.

I ran what I felt was a solid pace with some intervals of serious sprinting, but to my dismay, when I looked for any signs of fatigue in Mrs. Hearn, it was quite apparent she wasn’t even breathing hard!

After the fact, I received an email reply from area runner, Brooke Nelson, letting me know that I should have my head examined engaging in speed work with someone who’s so much faster!

Even with all the improvements in my training regimen, dieting is an area that is in dire need of revision. Generally, I eat healthy lunches and dinners, but breakfast time is still, how should I say, a little too Southern.

I love bacon, eggs cooked in any fashion (as long as it is in grease), hash browns, and not to mention the most indomitable early a.m. staple of them all: stacked pancakes awash in butter and smothered in old-fashioned syrup.

I’m migrating to oatmeal and whole wheat toast, but the transition is a slow one. Oatmeal may be high in fiber but is utterly lacking in taste. I truly believe that oatmeal is why God invented brown sugar and cinnamon, if nothing else to give at least some degree of flavor to this otherwise bland dish.

Next time you see me saddled up at the local Waffle House browsing the menu, please feel free to remind me what not to order.

Robert Jackson is Assistant Vice President for Operations at The Anniston Star. Contact him by email at .