New Shoes ... for the race Sunday

I know the title is something most runners would NEVER say. Nothing new for a race - no new shoes, no new shorts or shorts or socks. No new food or drinks. Well technically the shoes are new but they are the same model (yes the same year) as I have been running now for a couple of years. I do seem to burn through them pretty quickly. I made the mistake last time of only ordering one pair so when the ones I had were getting worn I had to look around to find some that were my size and the right model since they have since replaced them with a newer model.

Anyway - I will be breaking them in the next couple of days just to make sure that I am ready for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler on Sunday. I am trying to figure out what I need to do to get a front spot in my corral so I do not end up doing what I did last year and have to run around people that were in a corral that they did not belong in. If you are in a race and you are walking within the first 3 miles then you probably did not belong in one of the first couple of waves of runners. With 15,000+ runners little things like that become VERY frustrating. Last year I ended up running 10.5 miles in a 10 mile race because I ended up running around that many walkers. Enough griping - I am just looking forward to getting out there and running a solid race and enjoy the views on the tidal basin.

I will post the update when I am finished the race.

Wishing Well

Last weekend we did get some worrying news .... Laura's Uncle Gene was in the hospital and Laura's Mom was heading from Dallas to Nashville. Of course we got worried and then we found out that he was in hospital as the result of an accident on his Harley. We have had a rough couple of years with family related events so that did not help either of us. Laura' s Uncle Gene is an interesting fellow. He is on the musical side of the family - having played in a number of bands over the many years he has played piano, and related instruments. He spent 20+ years playing with Kenny Rogers alone. The first time I spoke with him though we only talked about classic cars - and trust me when I say it was not a short conversation - but I was smiling the entire time.

So with all of this history we remained worried until we finally heard that the accident was not as bad as it could have been. He did have some serious injuries but he has been recovering well and I think he will be heading home today.

We are very happy to hear that he is doing ok and we hope him all the best in his recovery. I suspect he will not stop riding his Harley ... and I personally think that is ok

First Race of 2012 - Van Metre 5 Miler

It was a very cool morning Saturday - ok it was cold. When Laura dropped me off I think it was 32 degrees but the wind from the Northwest made the temperature feel more like the mid-20s. But it was sunny :-)

This race always has a nice crowd - lots of supporters, families doing the 1 mile fun run and young runners doing the 5 miler. I had decided to run this race light so shorts, a t-shirt and a light long sleeve shirt. I did keep some light gloves on as when the wind kicked up it was downright bitter.

I got to the event about 15 minutes before the start so I put my coat in my bag and put it away. I headed to the start about 10 minutes before so I could get a spot up front. I kept back 4 or 5 yards to let the real fast guys find a spot but wanted to make sure I did not spend the first 5-6 minutes trying to figure out my way around people who did not understand how to set up a start. I think I planned it perfectly as I only passed a handful of people in the first mile and my net time was only 4 seconds off gun time.

The race itself is great - a nice mile of reasonably flat followed by a couple of hills and then reasonably flat again. I kept a good pace. I was passed by a few people but kept running the race I wanted to run. Over the last 1/4 mile I kicked it a bit and finished strong. The best part was when I crossed the line the spread included lots of water, fruit and Georgetown Cupcakes - YUMMY!



The results - officially 505 runners finished the race and I placed 76th in that lot with a time of 37:31. I have fairly consistently improved my time at this race by about 90 seconds each year. No longer older and wiser but apparently older and faster :-)

In addition to a great personal race the race raised $100k for a Children's Hospital.

It was a great start to the year - next up Cherry Blossom 10 miler in 3 weeks

Birthday Wish for Kris

Everyone says this is a busy time of the month - the start of March Madness, Ides of March, the Eire of March - nice play on words :-) - but the biggest for me is today's date and my daughter's birthday.

This is her last high school birthday - next year off to college - so this is a big one for me. I will be making sure she has a good weekend. She already has requested a special lunch on Sunday and I get to make her a cake :-) and we will work from there.

So myself and Laura hope she has a GREAT day today and we want to wish her a very ...


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

First Race of 2012 - in 5 days

This past weekend was a good one for running. Not sure if it was the few days out of state running in different environments, elevation and hills, but I ran a great 8-3/4 miles yesterday. Now I just need to make sure I behave this week as I get ready for the start of the running season with the Van Metre 5 Miler this Saturday.

I always like this run - it is through a local neighbourhood, good crowds, a good cause and within the first mile you are climbing :-)

After this run comes the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler and then a half marathon in May. I may throw in a couple of 5 or 10 Ks in between, especially if Martika will run one with me :-)

Miraculous

Over the years I have had occasion when people have thought - "How did you do that?" or "That's miraculous". Well those things were usually good luck or a good application of knowledge.

This morning however, if I am to believe my Garmin training watch, I was quite miraculous and walked on water - or more accurately ran on water.

The image below is from the data that was dumped from my watch to my computer after my morning run.


As you can see I clearly run a 1/4 mile across open water. It even surprised me. Maybe my recent high altitude and hill training had a real profound effect.

or my Garmin is just messed up

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