Ani DiFranco reference in the title of this blog? Anyone? Anyone?

Hey there, Brett here. I've learned a lot during this training for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon, and I sure would like to share a bit of it with you.

1. Know your limits. If your knees are swollen, ice them and take the night off. If you're feeling dehydrated, don't run until you're feeling like you're up to it. If you feel like your ankles or knees are getting weak, or you have any real pain going on, get it checked out, or, at the least, take a break for a day or two till you're not feeling like your legs are going to go out. I know you get that feeling of guilt if you don't get out there and run everyday, but getting injured and being forced to sit out for a month would really be the icing on that Guilt-Cake.

2. Diet does matter. I have always thought that I could eat whatever I wanted, as long as I was exercising. I would, more or less, have a big bowl of grease for at least one meal a day. I'm not saying that you can't have a nice fast-food treat every now and again, it's just that onion rings for breakfast probably isn't the best way to train for a marathon. So, if you're trying to train for a marathon and the only vegetables that you have are deep fried and come in a little cardboard container, things might be a little easier for you if you limit that to about once a week.

3. Keep trying to improve a little every run, but don't kill yourself. It doesn't have to be a mile increase every run, but try to go just a little farther, or run your distance in a little quicker time. In my experience, just getting in a minute or so quicker than the night before makes me really anticipate beating that time the next day. It's motivating, and this is coming from someone who two months ago was unmotivatable.

So, keep getting out there and training; Dec. 6 is just around the corner...let's keep rocking and rolling, ya'll!

Sign up for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon here!

Playlist for the Week:
Gov't Mule: Banks of the Deep End Volume 1
Jay-Z: The Black Album
Scene Unseen Movie Podcasts

The training continues, after a few days of healing. The blister issue was explained to me quite well by our in-house expert on running. Chris P. told me, "Dude, you have to stop running until these heal. Seriously."

I listened to him. (As you may have noticed, if you've been following this, I'm not a big fan of..you know....listening to advice, of any kind. But I'm trying Ringo, I'm trying real hard.

So, I took 5 days off from running and just lifted and hit the elliptical about 20 minutes a day. I had a great deal of back issues when I began training, and at the advice of our in-house life coach, Dr. Vik, I visited a chiropractor. He helped me out the most by saying that my posture is real, real bad and that I need to work on the muscles in my back, otherwise the problems would persist. I actually listened to something for a change, and man, it's working like a charm, yo! And for the first time in my life, I don't have the posture of someone living in the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Below is a little video of my cool-down ritual every night. Take a gander, if you please.


My playlist for the last week has been:

• The Black Crowes-Before the Frost
• Chris Thile-How to Build a Woman From the Ground
• My Morning Jacket-Songs: Ohia-EP

Get out there and sign up for the marathon, Zappos!

Oh, dear, blisters are no fun, kids. I've found myself with two big ones since the start of my running. But I've gotten through it with the help of our resident Zappos running experts.

In the video below, Chris P. tells us of a few ways in which we can avoid blisters when running or hiking, and ways to deal with them when we inevitably get them.

Sunday was Day 2 for Brett's training for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon. He's sore..and sweaty...and his knees are swollen. And he's wondering if this is normal?

Playlist for Sunday:
Allman Brothers Band
Derek Trucks Band (Best slide guitar player in the business!)

Oh boy, oh boy...I'm out of shape, ladies and gentlemen. I set my sights on trying to run 3 miles today...I barely got to 1.5 and was seriously winded. I ended up running 1 in the morning and 1.5 in the evening. I've received a lot of advice from people inside and outside of Zappos, and they keep telling me to start small, and tomorrow I shall take note of that. It's been so long since I've ran any sort of distance. (I think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might have actually been quite popular near the last time)

So, I'm 30 years and 1 week old, and I'm trying to remember stretches from my Sixth Grade Gym class with Mr. Wells. Maybe I should call him for advice...he was always a great help. So, we're sure I can't just do jumping jacks and watch Jane Fonda videos for training for a marathon, correct? (Not her exercise videos...her dramas. Nothing inspires me to bust out the door in a full sprint like On Golden Pond. But, digress I do...)

So, tomorrow is another day. Only 3.85 months until race day. Let's rock and roll.

P.S. I keep forgetting to order my new shoes, so below is a photo of a pair I forgot that I had....love the Asics, yo.

August 1 Playlist:
-Ben Harper and the Relentless 7
-Ralph Stanley and Friends
-Slate Political Gabfest Podcast

This year, on Dec. 6, Zappos will be sponsoring the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon!

We hope to have many Zapponians running the marathon and the half marathon, as well as volunteering in many different areas to help the event to be successful.

We are hoping to encourage as many people at Zappos to participate as we can, and in a meeting earlier this week, we were trying to decide who would be the most unlikely candidate to train hard, eat right and get in shape for a marathon, and Brett H. began to sink into his chair a bit. And then a lot. At one point he might have actually been under the table in the fetal position in a wild, fearful panic.

It slowly dawned on everyone that he would be the perfect candidate to inspire people to train....because he's widely regarded as 'un-trainable'. Tom E. and Rebecca L. pointed out that the motto should be: "If Brett can do it, why can't you?"

So, after a bit of prodding and poking, laughing and joking, tears, fears and a deep desire for beers.......Brett said yes, yes, yes, he would begin training next week and run the Las Vegas Marathon. (Pending a Physical:)

We will be following his progress on Zappos Blogs, Facebook and Myspace.com

We'll let him explain and let some of his friends at Zappos fill him with confidence...............

Check back next week to see Brett's progress, and please comment below with any suggestions to help him out or with any words of encouragement!