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Greetings, sports fans!  After a considerable time off from CL blogging, I am back with a brand new project in which I would like to involve each and every one of you.  Wondering if I'm still bitter about Tim Tebow and his Florida Gators taking down my Oklahoma Sooners in the national title game?  Absolutely.  However, I have found a way to channel that aggression in a healthy and constructive way which brings me to the introductions I would like to make in today's post.

It is in my nature to be....let's say....overly active.  If my hands and feet are not busy doing something worthwhile, then I can generally be found running around in circles, all the while convincing myself that I am providing a service of some kind.  I think this affliction is referred to as "nervous energy," and I have it in spades.  This condition is in no way diminished by my obsessive consumption of caffeinated beverages like the iced coffee I am consuming at this very moment, and I have no immediate plans to limit my intake.  I've tried — it's an exercise in futility.

So when I learned about the upcoming Women's Running Magazine Women's Half-Marathon coming up this November in downtown St. Pete, I thought, "Okay...this is the perfect outlet for this influx of kinetic energy, and it's not as daunting as the idea of 26 miles in a full marathon.  Sign me up!"  The event takes place on November 22nd, so in mid-May I printed out a training plan and set my feet in motion.

For exactly one month, I happily executed my training plan alone — running during my lunch breaks and after work....self-motivated and relentless.  But, after each grueling training session...with the heat and mosquitoes and the vomit-inducing smell of low tide and rotting mangroves...I was patting myself on the back alone.  There was no one to exchange high fives with...no one to sweat the glorious sweat of victory or exchange battle cries with.  Sadness and complacency threatened.  Action had to be taken, or the mission would be lost.

So, I composed an email:  "Dear friends.  Let us all train together for the Women's Running Magazine Women's Half-marathon.  Let us put our physical efforts toward a worthy cause (the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society).  Let us sweat together...feel the pain of exhaustion together...and ultimately...achieve a great victory together!  And let us celebrate our progress with....."

Think, Holley.  Ice cream?  No...while a personal favorite, it is not universally beloved.  Pedicures?  Lovely, but expensive over the course of five months of training.  Plus, I wasn't totally sure if my running buddy, Phil, would be on board.  I have since learned that he would have been.  Oh...pizza!  Hmmm...even I could get tired of that rather quickly.  What, oh what, could be our celebratory treat for each milestone on our course?  And, then....without warning, there came a great epiphany.

Beer.

It was so obvious...so clear.  What could be more fulfilling than the replacement of lost carbs through one of the world's heartiest celebratory beverages?

Needless to say, my three running friends, Liz, Lisa and Phil, responded quickly in the affirmative with a great "Huzzah!" and The Stinky Drinkers were born.  Over the course of the past few weeks, we have toasted several great achievements — we recently found our very smelly selves hoisting pints at The Independent after accidentally completing 6 miles in downtown St. Pete.  That was a great, shining moment in time...one marked by our rather disgusting post-run condition versus the lovely girls in tiny black dresses celebrating the approaching weekend on a Thursday evening.  It was fiercely liberating.

So, here is the proposition I make to you, friends.  Join our team.  Be a Stinky Drinker with us.  This, by no means, requires you to run, drink or contribute money.  It's simply a plea for you to join us here at www.cltampa.com as we share our triumphs and stories from the road.  And...if you would like to run, we'll tell you how to do it and welcome you to set a pace with us on race day.  Want to sign up now?  Just log on to www.womenshalfmarathon.com.  Then, post a comment here to let us know you're in!  Also, check in for Stinky Drinker post-run happy hours which may be coming to a bar near you between now and race day!  This is a great way for us all to share some camaraderie and raise some dough for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Oh, and by the way...this is NOT just for the ladies.  Fellas, you are welcome to come on board, and might I say, this is an incredible way for you to meet athletic, motivated women.  Just be prepared to be assigned a "girl name."  Once you get past the workplace ridicule, you may find you actually like it.  SD "Phylis" can attest.

So, meet us here when you can, and the next time you raise a pint with your pals, add a toast and positive thoughts for the Stinky Drinkers.  "Three Cheers for Miles and Beers!"  Salut!