The Great Chako Death March

While traveling home from Christmas in Nebraska, I noticed that Dr. Chako had posted his New Year's resolutions. One caught my eye:

But a new year is coming. I've settled into a routine of sorts, and I'm ready to try again. This time I think I can achieve the workout goal. Here's my plan - I'm going to run 365 miles in 2011. It should be attainable, right? Who can't go an average of 1 mile a day? My friend Laurie just cleared 1000 running miles in 2010 (awesome, BTW). Mine should be a piece of cake (mmm, cake). I have some additional motivators, not the least of which is the Mud Run at the end of April with the G-Vegas crew (seriously, are you building Mastodon around this?). I'd also like to run a couple other races, too. I did the Angel Island 12K last January and it was a blast. I'd like to do it again. I also wouldn't mind running at least a 5K every other month - I think I can get my time below 25 minutes. I'm also seriously planning on bringing my running shoes to the next #WPBT.

Running has always been my workout of choice. Back in my late 20s and early 30s, I would average over 40 miles a week, would do several road races each summer, and even ran a marathon. As an aside, the marathon was a major error—the race was in a nature preserve with "Alligator Crossing" signs every half mile or so, leading me to fear that if I came up lame, I'd wind up on the "prey" side of a nature movie. Anyway, although my mileage has dropped off the past few years, I do enjoy running to relax, do some thinking, and keep myself in some semblance of shape.

Unfortunately, I hurt my foot in April, and my running has gone down while my weight has gone up. My foot has finally healed to the point I can run 15-20 miles per week, and the past couple of weeks I've started getting back into a regular running routine. I figured Dr. Chako and I could both use a little incentive to achieve our workout goals, and what's better motivation than fine dining in Vegas? So, after a couple of text messages, the good doctor and I have reached the following challenge:

• From January 1, 2011 through the WPBT in December, we will both keep track of our running mileage.
• I am spotting Dr. Chako 2:1 on the mileage. If he hits his goal of 365 miles, I will need to run 730 miles to push on the wager. Of course, the more he runs, the more I'll need to run, which is a good thing.
• Winner gets dinner for four at his restaurant of choice in Vegas during WPBT. Right now, I'm thinking CarneVino or Craftsteak, but please post your suggestions / motivations in the comments.

Now I take this challenge very seriously; I am playing to win. So, I have enlisted a secret weapon, my super-trainer, Berkeley. Berkeley loves running with me, though he mostly does a fast trot or easy lope to match my slow pace. However, at inopportune moments, Berk will decide we need to sprint for a few blocks, usually to chase a rabbit, bicycle, or car. Unfortunately, my running route follows a bike trail and a couple of major streets, so there is far too much sprinting. Also, sometimes Berk will taunt me by grabbing the leash in his mouth and alternately sprinting and running sideways, jerking me forward, encouraging me to run faster. 

At this point, I think there are even odds whether Berk kills me via heart attack before the WPBT dinner, or the dinner itself finishes me off. I'm really hoping it's the latter ...

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