6/17/07
Time: 4:43:20 Estes Park Marathon
Breathtaking is the word of the day. Not only was the view throughout the race breathtaking, but running at a much higher altitude was breathtaking as well. I found that I could only run about five miles and then I had to take a little walking break to catch my breath. As the run went along this got worse and worse resulting in my worst time yet.
I wasn’t so much worried about my time in this one. It was one I simply wanted to do. It was a really nice Father’s Day present to me. It was really nice to meet my wife and daughter at the finish line. One great father’s day.
4 down, 180 to go...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Fargo Marathon
5/19/07 Fargo Marathon
Time: 3:46:56
I have started a new tradition after Minot. Giving each run a one word description. This one would have to be rockstar. I think the mayor of this town must have kicked everyone out of their houses for the day and made them line the streets until the end of the race. For such a small little town there were plenty of people there to cheer you on. At various points throughout the race there were kids just lined up wanting a high five from the runners as they went by.
The fact that this race was so flat made the run really easy. It is also the same course that I ran with Dean on during his Endurance 50 last September so I was already familiar with the course.
When I crossed the finish line for this one and got my medal something interesting come to mind. I have set out to do 184 marathons in five years, I can’t do 184 live ones though because of money and vacation time. I really want to do 184 live ones though. Does this have to be done over 5 years? Do I want to make this something I carry out over an even longer period of time? Questions I must answer for myself as I continue on I guess. Anyone with comments please tell me what you think.
3 complete...181 to go!
Time: 3:46:56
I have started a new tradition after Minot. Giving each run a one word description. This one would have to be rockstar. I think the mayor of this town must have kicked everyone out of their houses for the day and made them line the streets until the end of the race. For such a small little town there were plenty of people there to cheer you on. At various points throughout the race there were kids just lined up wanting a high five from the runners as they went by.
The fact that this race was so flat made the run really easy. It is also the same course that I ran with Dean on during his Endurance 50 last September so I was already familiar with the course.
When I crossed the finish line for this one and got my medal something interesting come to mind. I have set out to do 184 marathons in five years, I can’t do 184 live ones though because of money and vacation time. I really want to do 184 live ones though. Does this have to be done over 5 years? Do I want to make this something I carry out over an even longer period of time? Questions I must answer for myself as I continue on I guess. Anyone with comments please tell me what you think.
3 complete...181 to go!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Trestle Valley Marathon
4/28/07
Time: 4:02:21
Brutal! After finishing this race someone asked me to describe the race and that is the one word that came to mind. The temperatures were not terribly cold but it was really windy. Factor in the wind and road kill hill at mile 22 and it was brutal. I started out the race at a little too fast a pace and really started feeling the burn by the half way point. The cool part was I knew several of the relay teams that were running the race and every time I approached a relay point, there were several people there cheering for me. It was a real confidence boost. Once I reached the hill at mile 22 I had little left though. I had to take several walking breaks from that point on.
The cool thing about running a small marathon like this one is that you have a greater chance of getting an award. After the race, I checked the leader board and saw that I was listed like third or fourth in my age group. Since they were only giving awards to the top two finishers in each age group I had decided to go home. As I took all my stuff out to my car, I decided I needed a little something to drink on the way home. I went back in and grabbed a drink and took one more look at the leader board. When I looked at it a second time I realized that not all the times were listed in proper order. This gave me a little hope again that maybe I had won something. I checked it again and sure enough, I was second in my age group. Awesome!
2 done, 182 left
Time: 4:02:21
Brutal! After finishing this race someone asked me to describe the race and that is the one word that came to mind. The temperatures were not terribly cold but it was really windy. Factor in the wind and road kill hill at mile 22 and it was brutal. I started out the race at a little too fast a pace and really started feeling the burn by the half way point. The cool part was I knew several of the relay teams that were running the race and every time I approached a relay point, there were several people there cheering for me. It was a real confidence boost. Once I reached the hill at mile 22 I had little left though. I had to take several walking breaks from that point on.
The cool thing about running a small marathon like this one is that you have a greater chance of getting an award. After the race, I checked the leader board and saw that I was listed like third or fourth in my age group. Since they were only giving awards to the top two finishers in each age group I had decided to go home. As I took all my stuff out to my car, I decided I needed a little something to drink on the way home. I went back in and grabbed a drink and took one more look at the leader board. When I looked at it a second time I realized that not all the times were listed in proper order. This gave me a little hope again that maybe I had won something. I checked it again and sure enough, I was second in my age group. Awesome!
2 done, 182 left
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Happy Birthday, To Me!
Time 4 hours, 48 minutes, 23 seconds.
I have not quit on my quest. I just took a little break. I took the break because I have been rather depressed lately. I believed I knew that it had more to do with my quest than anything else. I was right. That doesn't mean that I am quitting by any means, but if I have to take a little extra time off from time to time I will.
Today is my birthday! I celebrated by running my age, in miles. 33 miles is long. The time I listed is the time it took to complete a marathon distance. Not my best time but I was saving a little something so I could go the extra 7 miles. This was also my first run outdoors for the year. It felt good to be out in the elements. It made the challenge that much harder.
My run started off with a little hitch within the first half mile. The headphones for my new MP3 player that I got for my birthday (Thanks Pam, I love it) would not stay in my ears while I ran. I could go the next 32 and 1/2 miles without it but why. I turned around and went back for a pair that I would have the same problem with. The extra 5 minutes or so that I took getting them probably didn't help my time much because I was going up a hill when I decided to head back. This would be only the first of several little problems.
One I got back on the road, everything went fine for the next 8 miles. My times were considerably slower than usual but it was 35 degrees, a 10-20 mph wind, and I had to dodge snow and ice all over the place. Once I got to the trail that I wanted to take I knew that I would have to dodge plenty of ice. At times I could not avoid it because it covered the entire trail. When that happened I would just slow to a walk and get passed it. Around mile 9 I came upon what looked like a solid sheet of ice. When I stepped on it, it began to crack. I got a few steps into it and broke through. It was only a couple inches deep but it had a nice deep puddle under it. I gave my left shoe a very good, very cold baptism. Since I still had quite a distance left to cover I thought about calling Pam to see if she could bring me a dry pair of shoes and socks. Since it was only 6:30 a.m. I decided to let her sleep. I pressed on and with the wind the shoe dried out within just a few miles.
The other hitch was the road I was on. I had driven it before and knew that everything was fine for the first 13 miles (I plan to use it for some of my future marathon distances). I had not driven the other three and a half miles though. Two miles later the road takes a serious turn and goes up hill for 3/4 of a mile. Nothing that I can't conquer but it was hard, particularly knowing that I still had the other half of my run to go.
When I got to the top I could see a very decent sized little town off in the distance. What was going on? There was no town the size of Minot for at least 100 miles. When I pulled up the map on my GPS watch, I realized that I had run a circle. A couple miles down the road I would hit some of the roads I was on earlier. This meant that I would have to go down the same path as earlier. I adapted to it and pressed on.
I have not quit on my quest. I just took a little break. I took the break because I have been rather depressed lately. I believed I knew that it had more to do with my quest than anything else. I was right. That doesn't mean that I am quitting by any means, but if I have to take a little extra time off from time to time I will.
Today is my birthday! I celebrated by running my age, in miles. 33 miles is long. The time I listed is the time it took to complete a marathon distance. Not my best time but I was saving a little something so I could go the extra 7 miles. This was also my first run outdoors for the year. It felt good to be out in the elements. It made the challenge that much harder.
My run started off with a little hitch within the first half mile. The headphones for my new MP3 player that I got for my birthday (Thanks Pam, I love it) would not stay in my ears while I ran. I could go the next 32 and 1/2 miles without it but why. I turned around and went back for a pair that I would have the same problem with. The extra 5 minutes or so that I took getting them probably didn't help my time much because I was going up a hill when I decided to head back. This would be only the first of several little problems.
One I got back on the road, everything went fine for the next 8 miles. My times were considerably slower than usual but it was 35 degrees, a 10-20 mph wind, and I had to dodge snow and ice all over the place. Once I got to the trail that I wanted to take I knew that I would have to dodge plenty of ice. At times I could not avoid it because it covered the entire trail. When that happened I would just slow to a walk and get passed it. Around mile 9 I came upon what looked like a solid sheet of ice. When I stepped on it, it began to crack. I got a few steps into it and broke through. It was only a couple inches deep but it had a nice deep puddle under it. I gave my left shoe a very good, very cold baptism. Since I still had quite a distance left to cover I thought about calling Pam to see if she could bring me a dry pair of shoes and socks. Since it was only 6:30 a.m. I decided to let her sleep. I pressed on and with the wind the shoe dried out within just a few miles.
The other hitch was the road I was on. I had driven it before and knew that everything was fine for the first 13 miles (I plan to use it for some of my future marathon distances). I had not driven the other three and a half miles though. Two miles later the road takes a serious turn and goes up hill for 3/4 of a mile. Nothing that I can't conquer but it was hard, particularly knowing that I still had the other half of my run to go.
When I got to the top I could see a very decent sized little town off in the distance. What was going on? There was no town the size of Minot for at least 100 miles. When I pulled up the map on my GPS watch, I realized that I had run a circle. A couple miles down the road I would hit some of the roads I was on earlier. This meant that I would have to go down the same path as earlier. I adapted to it and pressed on.
I really enjoyed being out doors again. It may sound stupid, but as I ran along I came upon some horse manure. While it stinks, it is a smell that I would not experience running down in my basement. It also made me think of my Aunt Betty and Cousin Jason in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. They would always say "Smell that fresh air" when we would pass the same thing there. It was funny (at least to me).
I called Pam to let her know when I was a mile out so she could get a couple pictures of me when I came in. The second one that I have posted here of me standing on top of a bunch of snow was taken just before I took a step and went through the snow. I was knee deep in it. I didn't care. I had finished my run in 5 hours, 58 minutes, 58 seconds. One really long run.
I called Pam to let her know when I was a mile out so she could get a couple pictures of me when I came in. The second one that I have posted here of me standing on top of a bunch of snow was taken just before I took a step and went through the snow. I was knee deep in it. I didn't care. I had finished my run in 5 hours, 58 minutes, 58 seconds. One really long run.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Fargo Marathon
Fargo, NDTime: 4 hours 21 minutes 40 seconds
I lived a dream today! Today I got the chance to run with Ultra Marathon Man Dean Karnazes. He is running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Today he ran in Fargo and since it is just a few hours away from my home I had to go run with him. While it is only 11 days since my 1st marathon I felt great. The first couple days after the Air Force Marathon it was uncomfortable to walk though.
The run today with Dean was not a competitive marathon. It was really just a fun run. We started out a a leisurely pace and didn't really take off from there. Most of the day we were running around 10 minute miles. Just like the Air Force Marathon everyone was talking and having a good time. I thought that everyone would want to just talk to Dean along the way. That was not the case. We all spent plenty of time sharing stories with each other. It was a good time had by all. Dean had a crew with him that is making a documentary while we were out on the run. They constantly had a camera on Dean but took a few minutes to interview me as well. They asked me about my experiences at the Pentagon while I was on the run. Not sure how that will turn out. While they were asking me questions I was trying to replace the band aids over my nipples. Kind of funny.
I stayed with the main group until we got to within a couple miles of the finish. My legs were getting stiff on me just like they did at the Air Force Marathon. This time they were not as bad and I was able to run the entire distance. I got to the finish line about three of four minutes behind the main group.
No medal for this one, so I won't count it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)