Thursday, April 10, 2008

Always trying something new and this time I just had a funky mileage to place in my blog…1.16 miles in 10:43

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

After a really good dinner in Cartersville I still needed to run but I did not want to. Talked to my wife for a while but the reality of time started to sink in…it was getting late and I needed to run. I managed to put down 1.01 miles in 9:11.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A good day of work and a nice leisurely run…1.02 miles in 9:12

Monday, April 7, 2008

Back in the state of Georgia and back to work…another long day but the run has to get done…the park down the road has a .35 mile loop around the pond…why didn’t I see this earlier in my stay here!! 2.25 miles in 20:48

Thursday, April 3, 2008

How I managed to actually get up early and go out running is a miracle by itself but I thought that we might be having a late night tonight so I knew that it needed to be done. Easy 1.01 miles in 9:20.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

It is such a nice day here in Georgia that I decided to go for a run. I managed to get in 1.01 miles at a 9:14 pace.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Got up this morning a little early and decided that I should really put my run in since there looks to be a storm front moving in and I might get rained on this evening. 1.01 miles in 9:30 pace.

Monday, March 31, 2008

After dinner again here in Calhoun but it is also the day after the marathon meaning that I am a bit sore but after the first half mile the second came quite easy. 1 mile in 9:23…I guess I didn’t run fast enough yesterday!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Race Day!!

The story how I ended up here at the finish line begins about 4-5 weeks ago when I mentioned to Kristen (one of my running partners) that I would be traveling to Georgia in March/April for work. She queried if I had looked if there was a race when I’d be in the area…hmm hadn’t thought about that.

By the time I got home that night the question was stuck in my craw and I had to find out…marathonguide.com and sure enough…the ING Georgia Marathon March 30, 2008.

I slept on it over night but it kept coming back to me…when would I really ever get the chance for the company to pay for my airfare to a marathon again? By the end of the week I had signed up for the race and was not sure why I had done it.

I trained rather well for the next few weeks but my longest run only capped out at 18 and that one I walked for the entire last 3!! I only wanted to finish the race but I was feeling good up to today and thought that I stood a chance to get back into a good pace. I’ve told most of you that I had abandoned the standard thought about training…a minute slower than race pace…and would run the race the way I prefer to train, all out and walk when I need to.

When I got up this morning and looked out the window I saw that it had indeed rained last night as predicted and I was hoping that the weather would hold to the 40-50’s as well. The hotel I stayed at was picked because of it’s proximity to the start and finish but never dreamed that my corral would be right outside my hotel!! I had to walk all of a block this morning to get there!!

Race time was 7:00 A.M. I assume we started on time but it took me nearly 21-23 minutes to cross the starting line and boy was the wind blowing by this time!! It took me a little while to settle into a good pace but once I was there the race was pretty good!

The course was very nice…it started off near the World of Coke and took a short jaunt around the downtown area. We then headed East out of town and into the suburbs. We ran past the birth place of Dr King and saw the neighborhood he grew up in all the while winding in and out of residential areas with some gorgeous homes.

The entire course had rolling hills…nothing to big or small but as the run wore on so did this up and down motion!

I was doing great my wife was able to see me at a number of spot n the course and was surprised at how well I was doing…in fact she kept telling me that I was “way ahead of pace” but she could obviously see I was feeling good because she never warned me to slow down or to take it easy. My pace felt great. My legs felt good. And the support on the course was fantastic.
But then I hit mile 19…from this point until mile 25 it was nothing but relentless hills. I felt as though I was constantly going up and never going down. I know that is not the case but it felt like it! I struggled to keep running when I could but the up hills had become nothing but walking.

I kept my spirits high and trudged on knowing that this race was in the bag and all I needed to do was keep it up. When I hit mile 25 the course became flat as a board but I had very little left after all of the hills so I tried to run (waddle) when I could and kept a brisk 15-16 min pace on my walk.

Up until mile 23 I was sure that I would break the 5 hour mark but after mile 23 and the hills that kept coming I was finding it harder and harder to imagine that happening. At 25.7 miles the 5 hour pace group passed me…how sad.
I managed enough power in my calves (which were just burning from all the hills) to run the last .3 miles and to cross the finish line in 5:02:35.

Well that makes 10 marathons in 10 states…I can officially join the 50 state club now!
I have 2 marathons coming up in May…Cincinnati, OH and Fargo, ND…I might even try to do a 5th one this year in Las Vegas in December!!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

It was getting late and I was starting to contemplate not running since it is the night before the marathon but how could I allow my streak to end so abruptly? I went to the hotel gym with the wife and I managed to put in 1 mile in 9:53. The gym was as hot as the day before so I drank some more water and called it a night.

Friday, March 28, 2008

I’m in Atlanta tonight and I still need to run but I really don’t want to run in an unfamiliar city at night when there was recent tornado damage…I might get hurt and the race is only a day away. I opted for the hotel gym and was pleasantly surprised at the layout…6 treadmills, 3 ellipticall and 2 bikes (recumbent and upright) all with plasma TV’s attached to them, a number of medicine balls and a few weight benches. The only issue I had with the room was that it was rather stuffy and warm.

I jumped on the treadmill and ran 1 mile in 9:33.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Trying to stay calm and take things easy…still late at night but the mileage counts!! 1.01 miles in 9:07

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Had a bit more energy…I think it’s because of the upcoming race! Did 2.01 miles in 18:37

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I think this is becoming a theme…work late, eat late, and run late. 1.00 mile in 9:07

Monday, March 24, 2008

Have to get the job done and after eating late I still managed to get outside and put in 1.07 miles in 9:35.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Another late night run after dinner but since the weather was so bad today I needed to do it this late otherwise I would have had to do it in the rain. It was still windy when I headed out and did my 1 mile in 8:53.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Great little run but later in the evening than I really like…I would much rather do this before dinner than after. 1.03 miles in 9:12 for an 8:56 pace.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Only a 1.12 mile run but at an 8:57 pace I’m feeling pretty good…it is hillier than I remember.

Monday, March 17, 2008

First day in Calhoun and needed to get out for a run. It feels great to be out in shorts and a t-shirt…sure beats WI right now!

I ran 2.01 miles in 18:05 for a 9:00 pace