Last year I used to go with 10 random things for Tuesday as a blog topic after seeing a lot of people go with three things for Thursday. The alliteration thing made it easy for a topic. But I’ve come to realize that other people are a lot smarter than me. Three is SO much easier than 10! So, it’s Thursday. I’ll go with three random things.

1. 67 days until Boston. Not that I’m counting. My training is pretty much on target so far. Just need to drop a little weight (see item No. 3). I go back and forth between worrying about my weight and not worrying about my weight. If the speed is there, that’s all that really matters, I guess. But it would be a lot easier for the speed to be there without me carrying extra weight.

2. If any of you think I’m crazy for running 61 marathons last year to raise money for Train 4 Autism, you should see what my friend Steve Walters is doing. I think he’s crazy. Coming from me, that should say something. Take a look!

3. I’m doing something called The Daniel Plan through my church. It’s designed to help people at all different levels take better care of themselves in various areas of their lives. Health is a big focus. I have the ability to run a lot of miles, but that certainly doesn’t make me perfect. I’m trying to get back down to about 195 pounds (right now I’m up to 208) and take better care of my insides. Just because I have strong legs and good cardiovascular endurance doesn’t mean I don’t harm myself with the garbage I eat sometimes.

One of the things it has us doing is eliminating caffeine and processed food for the next six weeks. This no coffee thing is killing me — I used to have a large mug in the morning and a travel mug for the drive to the office. I’m also cutting out pop, which I had a lot of. If I go out for fast food, I’ll usually get a large cup (32 oz.) and drink four cups. Yeah, 128 oz. of Diet Coke at lunch. My body won’t miss that.

OK, that’s three things. Have a great weekend!

Late last year, I started doing Q&A sessions. I figured that with the experiences I was having, there were things you might want to know that I hadn’t covered in my blogs. Well, there’s one question I never got to answering. And my two followers who are dying to know the answer keep asking. So Dave and Carlos, today you’re getting your answer. The question? Which race has the best-looking women?

For those of you who have never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. Last year, to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism, I ran 61 full marathons all over the country. There were a couple of ultramarathons in the mix, too.

So, I took questions and answers and a couple of my followers wanted to know which race has the best-looking women. There are a lot of ways to answer that question.

I could take the easy way out and say the Orange County Marathon. My wife ran the 5K (well, pushed Jack in a stroller for the 5K), so that’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I could plug my race and say the Operation Jack Marathon and mention that we’re going to have it again this year. That’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I could say New York City or Nike Women’s Marathon, because those two probably have the most female entrants. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so mathematically speaking, if somebody things 1 in every X women is attractive, those two races will very likely have the highest number of attractive women. That’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I could say Boston, because with the toughest qualifying standards, it’s very possible that race has the highest number of physically fit women that meet the “attractive” criteria set forth by the media. That’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I’m going to eliminate anybody I actually know or met from this question, because I’m not going to put anybody on the spot one way or the other. So, my answer:

I’ve thought about this question for two months. I tried to think back over all the races. I didn’t focus on checking out the women. Don’t get me wrong — I see attractive women and they’re attractive. I’m married, but I’m not dead. But when I’m racing, I’m thinking about taking care of my body and getting it from the start line to the finish line as fast as possible. That’s it.

I don’t remember people I see during the race. I had to think back over all my races. Do I remember crossing any finish line thinking, “Wow, there were a lot of attractive women running this race!” No, sure don’t. Do I remember crossing any finish line thinking, “Wow, people look a different here than they do at most other races!” No, sure don’t.

This was tough. I wanted to answer the question, but nothing came to mind. So, I thought to myself, do I remember any random, pretty faces from any of the races last year? And then it came to me. I do. I remember someone from about mile 22 up at Grandma’s Marathon. If I only remember one random person from the 61 marathons I ran last year, does that mean that race has the best-looking women? I think it does.

So there’s your answer. Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota — the marathon with the best-looking women in the country.

Judging by the feedback I’ve been getting, I don’t think you guys like the question and answer blogs I’ve been doing. But, I still have a few more questions to answer, so I’m going to answer them. Somebody asked if I was Superman, and today, I’ll give a truthful answer to that. Are you curious? Keep reading!

Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here, welcome! I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I wanted to do something to use my running to make a difference, so I’m attempting to run 61 marathons this year to raise money for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism.

I named this endeavor Operation Jack, after my son. This year is almost done, as is Operation Jack. I’m through 60 of the 61 so far! OK, moving on …

A couple of quick things about race 61, The Operation Jack Marathon
The Operation Jack Marathon is this Sunday. If you’re in the Southern California area, come out and join us! The rain is supposed to go away tomorrow! Click here to see all about the race, registration, etc. Come out and run with us! If you’re not local, consider the Satellite Run option. We’re aiming for all 50 states and we only have 10 to go. Participants get a race shirt and a medal. And, of course, they’re helping a great cause.

Post-Race Celebration Sunday
We’ll be getting together at a local restaurant. I created an evite. Click to operationjack.org/postrace to automatically view it. The invitation is open to anybody. If you want to go, just RSVP so we know to expect you!

What was your favorite course, most memorable, most scenic, least scenic, and what the heck what I thinking course?
I’ve touched on the favorite course thing, but it was Humpy’s in Anchorage. Most memorable will probably be this weekend’s Operation Jack Marathon. How am I ever going to top that? Least scenic, I’d probably go with Arizona Rock ‘N Roll. And What the heck was I thinking? The Tahoe Triple.

That was tough, especially 46 marathons into the year in a month that featured two ultras, seven races total of at least marathon distance and five races that started above 6,000 feet, two that finished above 7,000 feet and one that was a four-story building shy of 9,000 feet. What the heck was I thinking?

Are you in fact Superman?
A supporter from Illinois asked me this question. This kind of stuff makes me blush. But I made a deal — you ask questions, I’ll give you the answers. Am I Superman? Yes. I am.

What’s been harder, the the running or the time without the fam?
The time without the fam, no question. I got homesick a lot more than I thought the running was getting too tough. In fact, the running never really fazed me. I just went through the grind and got it done.

But I hated leaving. Even last week, when I was excited because it was my last trip, I was sad to leave. I found that it was easier to leave when everybody was asleep, but I didn’t like being gone, and I got pretty upset when I missed things.

How do you recover so quickly after each marathon?
Previous high-mileage training helped with that. But I think maybe I’m just blessed to recover fairly quickly. I haven’t been 100 percent all year, and it’s been frustrating to not be able to do what I’ve been able to do in the past, but I haven’t been in a ton of pain. I’ve been more-or-less sore all year.

I went primarily protein in my diet the first three days after my races, I stretched a lot and I did slow, easy runs during the week. I took ice baths when I could, although not often enough.

What running products have you found are absolute garbage/must halves?
I don’t know of anything I haven’t really liked. I don’t buy every latest product out there and I’m pretty simple, so I couldn’t really tell you anything I don’t like. But the one thing I really came to like this year was my Zensah compression pants. I wore them after my races and they were a huge help in preventing cramping. I called them my polyester cramp removers and I loved them!

How do you deal with haters, hecklers and wiseacres?
Not too well! I knew going in I’d encounter some of that and I wasn’t looking forward to it. It’s tough to get attacked and I’d hear some things, but I think the best thing to do is tune it out and stay focused on the goal. I’m pretty thin-skinned, argumentative and defensive, so I’m glad there wasn’t a lot of it.

I had people questioning my motives and questioning my relationship with my family and it made me extremely angry. Those who witnessed it know I didn’t manage the situation well and in addition to learning how I should have handled it, I learned that absorbing criticism is a major weakness of mine.

If you trained for just one marathon, what time do you think you could post?
I’ll find out on April 18. I’m aiming for sub-2:55.

How do you manage the logistics? Meaning, how do you find the time to pick up your race packet, especially on weekends you do more than one race, and get all your flights planned for right times and arrange transportation.
The flights were pain. There are three airports I can fly out of. There are occasionally multiple airports I could fly into. And there are different websites I would use to check fares. So, sometimes I’d have to do 15 or 20 checks to find a good flight. Fares were critical, but so were timelines. I have a job. I have a family. But I had to get to where I was going, too. So I needed perfect timelines at perfect rates.

Sometimes, the rates didn’t look good and I’d investigate backup races. Sometimes I’d do 50 searches to square away a weekend. It took me six hours to book my tickets for the weekend I went to Kansas City and Denver. That part seemed like such a time killer.

As for lodging and transportation, I usually booked my room and car the night before I left. I really only had problems with that twice. I forgot to book a car when I went to Knoxville, Tenn., so when I got there, I just went to each counter and asked for rates. When I flew into Missoula, the only company left with a car was Hertz, and they were incredibly expensive, so to save money, I sat in the terminal for three hours to make sure I only had the rental for 24 hours.

I knew going in the logistics were going to be a nightmare and they were. And I got to take care of it all myself. Fun, fun stuff.

Regarding race packets, any time I had the opportunity to have somebody else pick up my packet, I took advantage of that. Race expos don’t do it for me any more. On my last double, I got from Memphis to Las Vegas in time to get to the expo. It was weird picking up my packet knowing I’d gone 26.2 on the other side of the country earlier in the day.

I usually arranged with somebody to pick up my packet for me (thank you, Ally Phillips!) for doubles, but I figured out a way when I couldn’t. That either required squaring things away with the race or getting to town on time. For weekends when I only ran one marathon, I made sure I’d arrive on time and then I’d go straight to the expo from the airport.

How many pairs of shoes did you go through?
I went through six pairs of shoes. I’m currently rotating pairs No. 7 and 8 and I’m about 25 percent through each of those.

What are you going to do you with your first weekend off?
Well, I’ll spend plenty of time with my family, watch a little football, work on the garage and take down the Christmas lights. From a running standpoint, though, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I might take the weekend off, or I might go out for a 30-miler on my old training route. I’m not sure. I’ll see what I’m in the mood to do.

It’s probably hard to quantify tired, but how tired are you?
I’m straight-up worn out. I’m more tired than anything. I’m totally exhausted more than anything else. I’ve completely run myself into the ground. It’s not just the three hours a week that I’m running. It’s the 168 hours a week that I’m existing. I’ve been tired this entire year. I can’t even sleep more than 7 hours right now, because I’m so used to functioning on 6 that I wake up naturally after 7. I’m absolutely out of gas.

How long in 2011 before you do another race?
Boston, April 18. I hope I still have followers because it’s going to be a fun one. Oh, I’m pacing the 3:40 group at Surf City on Super Bowl Sunday, but that doesn’t really count. Physically, that’s just a training run for me.

OK, that’s all for today.
Is it really Wednesday? Wow. This week is going by way too fast. I’ll see you back here for one last blog before my last race. It’s not going to be a question-and-answer session, though. See you tomorrow!

Normally, I’d write a weekend recap on Monday, but I just about fell asleep at my laptop last night. Actually, I just about fell asleep playing Uno with my kids. So now that I’m on my lunch break, I have about 10 minutes to write something quick to get a few things across.

Five quick links for today:

1. If you’ve never been here before, CLICK HERE to see why I’m trying to run 61 full marathons this year for Train 4 Autism.

2. I wrote a blog on Friday about what’s going on with Operation Jack, but I didn’t promote it a whole lot. CLICK HERE if you missed it.

3. I ran my 57th marathon of the year in Memphis on Saturday. I was slow, but it was an awesome experience. CLICK HERE to read the recap.

4. I ran my 58th marathon of the year in Las Vegas yesterday. I was even slower and it was an incredibly painful experience. CLICK HERE to read the recap.

5. Operation Jack Marathon and Satellite Runs … December 26! Who’s not in? Who doesn’t know what’s going on? CLICK HERE for all the details! Note: I intend to update the list of satellite participants tonight.

That’s all I have for today. I’m buried alive and it’s killing me. Well, metaphorically speaking. Literally, I guess if I was buried alive, that would be killing me, too. But I’m just sitting at my desk, finishing up some crackers.

Have a great rest-of-Monday everybody! I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

For those of you who come around here regularly, you know I’m in a pickle for the weekend of November 21. I planned on running Philadelphia, and there are people there I’d like to see, but the race sold out and they wouldn’t let me me in. A lot of you contacted the organizers on my behalf and never heard back. I lined up a plan B with Tulsa and set this week as a deadline to finalize that week. And I did.

It’s going to be Philadelphia!

I never heard back from the race, but I came across a charity called the Hearts & Smiles Foundation, which provides assistance to siblings of special-needs children in low-income families in the Philadelphia area. They provided me with an entry into the marathon. I’m going to do my best to raise some money for them.

Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I wanted to use my ability to recover well from marathons to make a difference for kids like Jack. So, I’m attempting to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 50 of the 61. I’m almost there!

Anyways, back to Hearts & Smiles. I think about what Jack goes through a lot, and it’s pretty tough. But Hearts & Smiles makes me pause for a minute to think about my other two children, Benjamin and Ava. We’re on a very tight budget, but we’re not a low-income family. Still, they have their difficulties because of Jack. Their routines frequently have to revolve around Jack and they sometimes don’t get the attention they need.

Families with special-needs children have all sorts of challenges and the typical siblings will face struggles as a result of those circumstances. They’ll grow up to be very loving, protective people, but they’ll have pretty tough elements in their childhood. Being in a low-income family will make things even tougher.

So, I’m excited to help Hearts & Smiles as part of running the Philadelphia Marathon. You can reach my fundraising page by going to operationjack.org/philadelphia. Let’s nickel-and-dime our way to the top of my thermometer.

I used to have a weekly contest where you’d pick my time. How about contributing a dime for every full marathon I’ve run this year? 10 cents is a lot easier than 26.2 miles. I’ve done that 50 times. That’s only $5! That’s the donation I started with personally. Even on my tight budget, $5 doesn’t mean anything. But it’s going to help a great cause.

So, please think about it! Thank you for your support!

Race Preview: Mankato Marathon
Marathon No. 51 of the year is the Mankato Marathon in Mankato, Minnesota. I’m excited about this for a few reasons. First, I get to pace the 3:40 group. It’s a lot of fun pacing, because I get to help people reach their goals. I’ve paced four times before, averaging less than 1/2 second a mile fast. I take it seriously and I’m aiming for a 3:39:59. The last time I paced 3:40, I went 3:39:58 at Utah Valley in June.

The other reason I’m excited is the race is on Saturday and I’ll be home Saturday night! Daddy gets a day off!

Of course, it’s also nice to give my legs a break this weekend. For me, that means running a marathon at a pace of about 8:20 per mile. I’ll have a report posted Saturday night.

That’s All For Today
Have a great Thursday and Friday, everybody. I’ll have a race report up on Saturday!