Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!!!!!!!

I should have known that on a day when the top news story was Posh Spice's new reality show which (over the course of 6 episodes) will chronicle her move from London to L.A, I would be destined to have an amazing run.

As I mentioned yesterday, my wife and kids went to dinner at a friend's house tonight. Daddys unfortunately weren't invited... so Daddy got to go for a very rare (we're talking Honus Wagner rare!) long run after work. It was the same 14.3 mile "butterfly run" I did last week, only much later in the day and with a full day's worth of stress to burn off.

I hit the road at 6:00pm sharp, and within an hour I was at the very top of the climb (mile 8)... 43 minutes later I was home. 1 hour and 43 minutes for a very hilly 14.3 miles. I'll take that any day! It could have been the Jamba Juice I had 30 minutes before the run or the catchy songs on my iPOD (how can you go wrong with a playlist that combines the lyrical aptitude of Eminem with the rhythmic genius of the Go-Go's AND that includes songs by not one, but TWO "American Idols"!?). Another thing that made the run so fantastic was that about three-quarters of it took place in total darkness. It was seriously like running with your eyes closed. For the big climbs it helped, because I couldn't see more than 20 feet ahead of me so I was somewhat oblivious to the grade (to be honest, I'm lucky I didn't roll over on my ankle or fall off a cliff).

I was really happy to have a solid (fast'ish) run after a strong effort yesterday in the rain - I think I'm on track to be in great shape on April 7th! (shhhhh.. don't tell anyone!)

Tomorrow night will hopefully be REI night. I have my eye on a really great jacket and the dividend I received yesterday is burning a hole in my pocket.

Keep those Powerbar ideas coming! I should mention that the 5 ideas I ultimately pick as finalists will be the ideas that use less than a couple of boxes.. While it would be amazing to bring enough Powerbars up to the Pole to build an Igloo or a surf board, something tells me I'd go over my baggage allowance (and the Norwegian Customs Officials might have a few things to say about it).

Talk to you all later.
T-minus 38 days and counting!