So...after quite a while with no posts, here I am again.  I have been training fairly consistently since the first of the year, with a goal of running Rainier to Ruston, a fifty-miler that starts on Mount Rainier and ends at Ruston (bet you couldn't have guessed that from the name, huh?) which is in Tacoma, WA.  It is mostly downhill, with a good mix of single track, paved rail-trail and roads.  I have officially jumped in with both feet and paid my entry fee. 
  I have to admit that I have been really lax with my long runs, but since I have paid my 60 dollars and I don't want to DNF (last would be fine....) I am ramping them up.  Tomorrow I will hit the treadmill one last time, do an 11 on the loop that starts out my front door on Saturday, then be exclusively an outdoor runner from that point on.  This is kind of by default really - as a result of the "sequester" the hours at the base gym where I have been running on treadmills have been cut so my early morning workouts there are gone.  No real problem - the main reason I like the treadmill is so I can work on pace awareness.  I have some nice somewhat hilly routes mapped out around the base (I love MapMyRun!) so I will be hitting those starting Monday, and since next Friday is my regular day off (every other week I have a three day weekend) I will continue doing back-to-back long runs.  I have done a few, not nearly enough....  I will probably adopt a run/walk schedule like the one I read about recently in "Run Right Now: by Joe Henderson: 30 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, plus really working on my long runs.  It's only two and a half months away so I better get my caboose out on the road.
  The other "advantage" I think I am giving myself is I am going more raw and vegan with my diet.  I do seem to have more energy when I stick to it.  It's kind of hard since I am the only one in the household doing it, and I do 99% of the cooking so I get tempted to try what I am cooking for Shirley and the boys, and I really struggle with being the cleanup detail - taking the leftovers to work for my lunch, or just cleaning the boy's plates when they don't finish.  I am adjusting my recipes so there are fewer leftovers to help with that problem, and working to maintain my willpower!