Hi Everyone. My quest continues–I managed to complete my 12th marathon/ultra over school vacation in sunny Hyannis–not so. It was cold, windy as well as rainy, especially along the waterfront. The course isn’t bad to run. A double loop that is pretty flat with only one memorable hill at mile 8-9 as well as 17-18 (second time around). I don’t mind double loops. It mentally breaks the course up, as well as there are no surprises the second half. The field isn’t huge, only 500 runners in the full with about 1,500 operational the half. I had company the first half. After that it was pretty quiet, until I started to catch the slower half marathon runners. The last few miles I didn’t push myself, letting my splits slip a little. I did complete in 2:56 (6:45/mile pace). Since it was a small field I ended up in 6th place overall as well as 2nd in my age-group (30-39). This is my last race in the open division. I now shall be a masters runner (40+) here on out. I should be locally competitive in that category-though because of the fact that of attrition-the remaining runners are generally good. Virginia Beach next in a few weeks 

Another one finished — number eleven if you are counting, three to go. This weekend was the Disney Marathon. A lovely flat as well as fun marathon to run. You see three parks as well as an estimated all of the Disney characters along route. I recommend this marathon on behalf of anyone who wants to jog a marathon. For those who have been to Disney, you don’t get from a from one point to another quickly. A lot of waiting on behalf of shuttle buses. When I booked my plane tickets I didn’t realize this. So a 12:00 PM flight sounded fine, complete the race by 9:00, shower as well as leave the hotel by 10:00 as well as be at the airport on behalf of 10:30. So at the end of it took me two as well as a half hours to get from my hotel to the expo to pick up my race packet as well as back I became a little panicky. Then half way through the race I started to think if I drop off pace, I might not manufacture it to the airport on time–a great motivator. The start was early, at 6:00 am. I had to get up at 3:30! Considering the warm weather, a necessity. The start was a comfortable 55 degrees, as well as by the time I finished it was already 70. I did jog a grea

Despite the ice storm, as well as no power at home, I managed to complete the Thunder Marathon in Charlotte over the weekend. I finished in a time of 2:56 which was good sufficient on behalf of 12th place in the field of 5,000. as well as 1st in my age group. Not too bad on behalf of the old man. Though, I felt I didn’t have a good run. I couldn’t get into a good rhythm as well as my mile times were all over the place. I did have even splits on behalf of the the halves, with the second only being 30 seconds off of the first. The course ran through the communities of Charlotte with long up as well as down hills. They weren’t steep, but I wouldn’t describe the course as flat. The weather perfect–temps ending in the forties. Pretty well marked course (few spots I had to request which way to go) as well as helpful volunteers. Very little in the way of crowd support was a downside. I think I didn’t have a good jog because of the fact that I was concerned about home–which didn’t get power back until Monday! I still don’t have phone or cable. 

Kicked Asphalt!
I managed to comfortably complete in a time of 2:53, which was good sufficient on behalf of 111th place overall as well as 13th in my age-group. I felt strong as well as really only dropped 10 seconds per split off of my pace the last five miles. I think I could have jog faster if the mile markers weren’t messed up at the beginning of the race. According to my splits, I ran mile 4 in 7:30, mile 5 in 5:30 as well as mile six in 6:40. It is difficult to modify your pace if you can’t get a consistent measurement. I hadn’t planned on going out that fast but felt strong early on as well as ran with it. As I like to say, my ‘big gear’ was that much faster. I think I’ll give another good effort in at Charlotte. We’ll see. Weather as well as recovery are big factors when operational back to back to back…marathons.
Other than screwy mile markers, it was a well jog race. Organized expo, well manned water stops as well as a beautiful medal were pluses. A better course map, especially on behalf of spectators, would add to the improvement. A cold as well as breezy day kept some of the crowds 

This past weekend was my “extra” marathon. Laura B requested if I didn’t mind operational the 3:10 pace group. How could I say no. I have to say it was great fun. I had a solid group of twelve runners up until the hill at mile 18 (Daniel Plumber Rd). After we were through St. Anslems, it was down to 5. But those five stuck with me until the end. One of these runners was Evan, a 17 year old HS student, operational his first marathon! It took some motivating, but Evan as well as I crossed the line in 3:09.34–a qualifying time on behalf of Boston. Hugs as well as tears, really rewarding. On the flip side, if I had jog at race pace, I could have taken 2nd or 3rd overall. No worries, it wasn’t on my schedule, but next year….
Next stop in Philly in three weeks. I am going to taper as well as see what happens, but I know this isn’t the time to endeavour to break 2:50. I am thinking either Virginia Beach in March, or endeavour at Boston. I require to get back into weights as well as plyo–of which I haven’t done since the summer. I also require to be more consistent on my mileage. 50-70 miles a week is fine on behalf of m