The Columbus Half Marathon

Sunday I ran in the Nationwide Columbus Half Marathon with Ford and Jill. At the starting line they really got everyone pumped up with music and Blackhawk helicopters flying in formation above us. Mayor coleman started the race. There were lots of drink stations and even a goo station near mile 7. I had a perfect race running 1:42. This is one minute off my PR for the half! It's amazing what a little training will do for you. Thanks to Stephanie for meeting me at the finish line. I will definelty do this half again.
Now to slowly increase my mileage to 40+ miles a week -- then I can start thinking about getting fast. I had the oppotunity to talk to a few elite runners in the past week and both told me that more miles means more speed. Higher mileage is the one thing I'm missing. I'm kinda excited about reaching the 40-50 mile/week range....

12 Miles on the Charles River -- Boston

I loved this run. I would have to say that this was by far my favorite long run of the year. What I love most about longs runs is the serenity they bring -- a calm, focused effort that is deeply satisfying. 12 miles flew by. I ran by Harvard, Boston College, and MIT. The river was full of boats -- there was a rowing competition going on. Past the Cambridge area I crossed over the river into downtown Boston. The streets were narrow and the sidewalks old cobblestone. Running back on the Boston side, I picked up the pace to 7:30 min/mi and felt really strong. The air was starting to get crisp and I was happy to get back to my rental car. I envy Boston runners -- they don't know how good they have it!

Walk for the Whisper 5K

This was a happy day for me. Any day your girlfriend and one your good buddys agrees to get up early on a Sunday morning to run a race with you is a great day. Stephanie and D ran together and had an impressive finish time. I placed 16th out of 325. A nice course that started in front of the Westerville community center and weaved through Heritage Park. Good job once again by RunWild Racing. You can see the results here.

future pic

The Chicago Half Marathon

Well I've been trying to avoid talking about this because it was a tough half -- and my worst ever. I actually ran a 2:09 which I didn't think was possible for me. I can't remember what Ford's time was but I think he had some throuble as well -- mainly due to the heat. By the end of the race it was pushing 80F so we were dying.
The saving grace of the entire trip was going to the Map Room the night after the race. They had like 200 beers and 75 on tap or something crazy like that. They had Three Floyds on tap which I had never seen. Also -- they had every flavor of Bells that has ever existed. After the Map Room we ate dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery.
We also took a lot of silly pictures of a small stuffed frog that Mya pooped on. You can see the pics at www.poopfrog.com