This is a little late. It does not seem as important to get done with what is going on in Donna and mine's life right now. I only got 10 miles of running in, since my marathon last Sunday. At least I am rested more, while spending more time with Donna. Mississippi Blues' course is very hilly. The first eleven miles and the last 7 miles are hilly. With the worst hills, some very challenging, in the first 6 miles and the last 5 miles. From Mile 11 to Mile 19 it is very flat. It was in the lower 60's at the start and in the lower 70's at the finish. It was very humid too. My goal was somewhere between 4:15 and 4:30. I would love to break 4:00 here. After my fine run at Springfield just may be 4:00 is not out of the question. My plan is to run the first 6 miles around 8:30 then pick it up a little the next 4 miles. Hopefully, I will be able to make up even more time in the flat part of the course. Then just run an even pace the final 7 miles. I was told that the last 5 miles are the toughest. The weather here sure beats Kansas City's in January. My first mile was right at 8:00, then I ran a 8:39 and 8:38. The next few miles were closer to 9:00. After Mile 6 I feel okay with the worst of the first half behind me. Mile 6, 52:41, I feel pretty good and I start running faster and faster. The next 5 miles of hills are not nearly as bad. Nearing Mile 7, I meet a fellow Marathon Manica, Melissa from Tampa, FL. She tells me she is number 1116, a common greeting. I tell her I am number 38. Melissa and I run a quick pace and the miles seem to disappear. There seems to be more and more half marathoners around us. We miss mile marker after mile marker. Then we come to a very challenging hill. We should be well pass Mile 11 by now. Then there is the answer as we near the top. There are nothing but half marathoners around us. After questioning one of them we find out we took a wrong turn just after Mile 11. After a moment of disbelief we make a quick turnaround. This is the very first time that I have missed a split of the half and full marathoners by more than several yards. It was very unbelievable. After about a mile Melissa goes even faster. When I made the turnaround nearingthe half Marathon Finish line, my time was 1:47. I had a great run going. As I near Mile 12 I see 50-stater friends of mine. I run with Steve Boone, treasurer of our club, for half a mile. Then I catch up with Jim Simpson. Then Steve catches up with us. We run together for the next 4 miles. I decide to have fun and run with friends that I have not run with for years. Mile 16, Steve goes ahead. Jim and I run the rest of the marathon together. For about 4 years Jim and I ran more marathons we can count together, but for the past 6+ years he has slowed down. Jim is 6 years older than me. This was his 596th marathon. He is running another one in Alanta the next day. As we come to the hills at Mile 19 we see that it will be about a 5:30 finish. We run Mile 20,10:35 and Mile 21,11:30. Jim thinks we could break 5:00 if we can keep it up. These hills are becoming tougher. We just take our time. We run the downhill, flat, and part of each hill and not worry about the time. We take the final mile and the hills as our challenge of the course and run it all as fast as we dare. My finishing time was 5:03:10, clock time. My chip time was probably about 30+ seconds faster. Jim was about a minute behind me. My total distance was near 30 miles. After about half an hour or so of talking with friends and comparing notes Jim drives me to my car, nearly a mile away. We talk a bit more. Both of us thinking it was like old times to run together, but instead of breaking 4:00 we struggle with 5:00. We talk about Donna again and I assure him that I will keep him updated. Jim and I may not see each other again until TIMTAM in May. Hopefully, it will be run again. He might do Lincoln the week before. It is always so sad to see good friends leave. It is odd that we almost always see each other in a state that neither one of us are from. Jim lives in southern California, but is from Georgia. I now live in Kansas, but I was raised in South Dakota and Nebraska. Next is Sarasota Marathon in Sarasota, FL, on February 15th. Donna has a good friend an hour away in Tampa, FL. TomD

Tom, it's too bad you missed the split but it sounds like it turned out fine since you got to run and visit with old friends. Congrats on another good job. Good vibes going out to you and Donna. TomS