Finally saw Spirit of the Marathon.

Got 9 miles in early this morning.  Normally my long runs are not less than 10, but i was with some friends and it's a cutback week and it was hot and......

Anyway.  I did 9.

Good to see you running some, Dave.  Nice 9, Paul.

22:11 for my 5K.  I would have had hardware in several of the younger groups, in the next older group, or if the groups were 5 years.  But there are a bunch of fast guys in the 50-59 range, so I came in 6th.  Harriet got a 2nd place medal, because the overall 3rd place woman was in her division.

We both won some good door prices, though.

Paul: Maybe it's better to give them regular beds, cause otherwise you might discover that now they're big enough to break through the wall, if they get a running start

 

Raced a sprint tri this morning. Kinda hot. A handful of us men signing up late got put in the women's heat -- heat#1 -- b/c they'd reached their limit for the men's heat (64 max, keeping cap of 8 per lane in 8 lane 50m pool). So I felt a bit embarrassed being in the women's heat, but it was fun -- got to swim with only 4 in my lane, which was a real plus. The woman starting with me on the left flew out, so I knew by the first length that she was going faster than me and I wouldn't see her again. The woman starting with me on my right was exactly my speed -- I could see her underwater during the flipturns at the majority of the walls. So that was like having someone to race with in a running race -- a constant visual challenge to the side.

I passed a friend of mine in my own lane about halfway through (750m swim, 50m pool). The other two in our lane had gotten even and were apparently passing & re-passing each other, cause they were swimming next to each other for quite a number of laps. I finally caught them just before my final wall, so I flipped and sprinted for my finish -- I judged that I had just enough time to sprint past both of them and still not collide with my friend coming down from the other end, and that worked out. I got a bit ahead of my rival in the next lane doing that final sprint, but then she passed me in transition. This is no surprise as I'm really slow in transition.

The two rivals in my lane were a colleague I know, and an oriental guy I didn't know. (It was nice having another male in my lane so I didn't feel as out-of-place.) He caught me on the bike, and passed me. I chased him visually for a while on the bike, but eventually he went out of sight. Then on the run I still couldn't see him, and when I spotted him coming toward the turn-around, I judged he was running almost as fast as myself, so I gave up hope of closing on him.

It was hot and sunny -- high 80s I guess. I actually took a cup of gatorade at our club aid station, which I never do on a short running race. I'd forgotten to drink for most of the bike, but then had remembered before it was over, and drunk a bunch at once on the bike.

After I finished the race, I jogged back out. Our tri club had set up an aid station, serving water and gatorade. A friend who is racing a half-iron next week was manning it, as she didn't want to race today. She was a bit overwhelmed trying to pour and give out cups at the same time, so it was good to have me join her. She poured and I handed out cups, except when we got bunches or simultaneous approaches from both sides, at which times we both handed out cups. I'll hazard we gave out 200 cups. There were over 100 racers, and most took something both times they passed us (out & back run). A few took both gatorade and water cups, both times they passed us.

I placed 3rd in my age group, indicating that the new bike we bought last week helped me. I've never placed at this before.

How'd that run feel, Dave?  Good to see you back at it.

 

Awful during.  Great after.  

Great job on the Tri, Perry!

Very nice Tri for you, Perry. And finishing in time to hand out drinks is awesome. Good for you!

Good to get out there for what you can, Dave. Your work schedule sounds very difficult.

Not a bad 5k in the heat and humidity when you didn't feel like it, Lou.

My son's soccer team is in 2nd in this tournament. So they play tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the semi's, then (if they win), they play at 5 pm for the finals. This means we won't be back on the road for home before 8 pm, and since I won't be driving home as fast as I came down here, we're looking at a 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. arrival time at home. And I have to be at work on Monday. Ugh.

Original plan for my run today was at least 12, maybe 15, at the most 17. Lots of people out on the trail today. Headed to Kincaid Park, then down the Coastal Trail, doubled back to West Chester Lagoon and called DH (at 15.25 miles) saying I was thirsty. He was napping. Hmmm, kept going, texting him my location every now and then. I was hoping he'd come get me, but no response. WTH? So... I ran all the way back. 

21.1 miles, 8:09 avg pace, lots of hilly stuff. Stopped at Point Woronzof (sp?) on the Coastal Trail for a bit to watch planes land. That was so cool! I also stopped at Earthquake Park to read the displays about the Good Friday earthquake from 1964. I always run past that, but today had time to stop and check it out. Very cool, but very buggy so I left pretty quickly. Stopped for water at the athletic club, and then at a hotel so that sure helped. All in all, a really good run, but more than I was planning on, that's for sure! But I like running in Anchorage, especially when it's not raining! The temps today were about 61°F, but felt humid at 85%.

Erika, you are the only runner I know who can set out to do 12 and end up with 21.  Strong.

Me, I set out to do 13 and ended up with 12 or so, walking the last mile to my house.  I decided to do an out/back so I wouldn't stop at 8 or 9, but my legs were pretty tired, and it was hot out at 81°.  At least it was cloudy.  Could have used some rain.

Hey guys. Just got back from vacation. Didnt have reliable internet down there. Ran 4-5 times inlcuuding a double of 4 and 6ish miles. The heat kept the runs shorter. But also had a good 15 mile bike ride and plenty of walking. Think I lost 5+ pounds. Should get some good miles in this week and ramp up the totals in the relative coolness of Ohio.