Run for Renewal RR

Saturday I ran the Run for Renewal 5k, this was race #3 of the Live Uncommon Race Series and the only repeat event from last year and one of my favorites because of the cause it supports, Project Renewal, an after school program for underprivileged youth. They got a huge boost in participants this year when Live Uncommon stepped up and covered the cost of entrants this past week as a way to show support for the tragedy that happened last Monday at the Boston Marathon, which in a nut shell is one of the reasons I love being associated with Live Uncommon, doing good and awesome things because it is the right thing do for everyone.

As far as the race, I had no expectation of running this hard since I've only been back running now for a couple of weeks. My goal was to finish under 28 minutes and keep it nice and easy, I ran with my friend Anne for the entire race (I was hopping I could keep up with her the whole time) and it was nice to catch up with her. Best part was I had no pain in my Achilles during or after the race even with picking up the tempo a little for this race, I think I'm ready to start pushing things a little more this week and see how it responds.

Afterwards I ran some cool down miles downtown and checked out the flood waters, I also ran some stairs in one of the parking garages to get a better view, it's crazy to think that downtown Davenport floods nearly every year and yet they refuse to put up any kind of flood wall, what's that they say about the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...yeah I think the City Administrators qualify on that one.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

QC Marathon Race Report

So yesterday was the big day, the culmination of a spring and summer of hard work and long miles, of pushing beyond my limits and striving for new heights and I'm happy to say it ended in a nearly 6 minute PR, I finished in 3:48:33 and I am still in awe of how much more difficult going under 3:50 was from going under 3:55. One wouldn't think there would be such a vast difference in just over 5 minutes spread out over 26+ miles, it breaks down to only 13 seconds per mile difference but wow how those 13 seconds add up in the hurt category.

I was extremely fortunate to get to run the majority of the way with 2 friends I have met over the last year through Live Uncommon, John "Obi Run Kenobi" O'Brien and Emily Bucy who certainly helped keep the miles ticking and get me through the rough patches.



John showing off some impromptu cold weather head gear



We started off in the very back, in fact we were still at the Port-A-John's when the cannon fired to signal the start of the race. We eventually crossed the start line timing mat at just about the 5 minute mark, this was actually exactly what we had planned for. We wanted to start off slow and ease our way into 8:30 pace and then make up any lost time on flat easy stretches throughout the course.

The first 4 miles went by pretty easy and we tackled the only real hill of the course. Once we made it down to the boat ramp in Bettendorf I ran up ahead to use the bathroom which is pretty much a ritual now at this point for me. We timed it perfectly and as I headed back on to the course John and Emily were just stopping at the water station and I rejoined them.

We talked casually as we ticked off the miles, the pace and effort seemed very relaxed and easier than I had expected. Somewhere along the bike path in Davenport we picked up another runner, Tom from St. Louis and the 4 of us traded off breaking into groups of 2 running and talking along the course. About this time we started coming up on some fellow LU members who were running the Half Marathon, which runs with the Marathon for the first 7+ miles then breaks off before rejoining back on the Arsenal Island.

When we made our way on to Centennial Bridge I was surprised at how good I still felt, I remember this being the beginning of a low point for me last year and being thankful I was running with someone then. Making our way through the District of Rock Island I was feeling good and strong and very confident that I would make my goal of 3:45. Coming on to the Arsenal we crossed the half way mark at just at 1:52 so we were right on track to make the 3:45 mark.

Running through the Arsenal I noticed a hitch developing in Emily's gait and I asked her how she was feeling, she told me her left knee was bothering her. John dropped back with her and I joined up with our new friend Tom and ran ahead with him. I felt bad for Emily she ended up running the last 7 miles or so solo after John left her to catch back up with me. She was okay and would still finish but she was going to have to back off a bit, she still finished under her goal of 4 hours at 3:59 so it ended up being a good day still for her.

Once we got off the Arsenal and on to the out and back stretch of River Drive, I was starting to feel the accumulated effects of the first 20 miles, I was hurting just yet but I was starting to get some tightness in my hamstrings and my quads were burning. Once we hit the 23 mile mark I had to stop to stretch my hamstrings, I knew then that 3:45 was not going to happen so I just wanted to do what was necessary to get under 3:50. Earlier John had asked me what my fastest 5k was and I told him 20:21 and he told me we would cruise the first 3 miles of and then go for my fastest 5k in the last 3. I knew then that wasn't going to happen and once I stopped to stretch going at 8 minute miles was going to be difficult. Mile 23-24 I just kept moving forward and knew I would have to turn it up on 25 and 26, I stopped to stretch again, and tried to stretch my quads and my hamstring instantly knotted up, so I just kept moving. When I hit the 25 mile marker I picked up my pace a little, I haven't looked back at my splits yet but it will be interesting to see what they were at the end. Once I saw the 26 mile marker I just went as fast as I could and summoned the last bit of my energy and ran as hard as I could to the finish line. John was there waiting for me along with other LU members and I remember doubling over as he congratulated me and saying "That hurt so f***ing bad".

All in all it was an absolute amazing race, I didn't make my top goal of 3:45 but I'm very happy and proud of going under 3:50. I felt better through the first 22 miles than I have in my previous 2 marathons so I know my training was good, I just hit a wall at the end and that happens sometimes, but I still finished strong.

Thanks again to not only John and Emily for running with me but to everyone that I have had the pleasure of running with over the last 9+ months, especially all the amazing Live Uncommon members that I have gotten to know over the year.

I look forward to taking some time off from running, 1 week for sure and then easing back into training for the Wildcat 50k on Nov. 11th.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Lake Geode Challenge Race Report

Oh man where to start...I left Friday evening for Burlington to pick up my race packet, find my hotel and hopefully try and get some rest before my biggest test in triathlon to date. I made it into to Burlington around 7:30 picked up my race packet from The Drake and got my first exposure to the wonderful volunteers of this race. They were extremely accommodating letting me pick out my shirt size (I typically choose XL cause I never know how they will fit) and they even had me model it for them. This was the first incident I wish I had taken pictures to document the experience, I always want to but I generally forget when I'm in the moment and then regret it later. Not only do you get the standard bag of goodies, T-shirt, couple of snack items but they also gave you a cool pair of socks with the race name and logo on it and a water bottle, which I always need more of. Afterwards I found my hotel and to my surprise and delight found I was right next door to a Mexican restaurant, my favorite pre race food, sorry Pizza Ranch!

After checking in and unloading everything I went for a quick shake out run and then headed to dinner. I browsed the menu and then just asked the waitress "What's the biggest burrito you have?" and this is what she brought to the table.



I will have to say this was one of the best burritos I've ever had and if not for the fact that I would be racing the next day I probably would have attempted round 2.

Race Morning:
I woke up at 4:30 after getting maybe 4 hours of sleep, to much excitement to sleep the night before, went through my routine and got ready to head out to the race. Driving into the park I got a taste of some of the hills we would encounter on the run and bike and quickly determined why the race has the word Challenge in it's title. Not that any of them where huge but by Iowa standards and most where on winding narrow roads that would be sharing with cars during the race, this could prove to be interesting. After getting my transition set up I headed out for a warm up run and bike and got my first taste of the hills, first hill was right after leaving transition area. When I got back from the bike warm up, I found someone had set up shop right where I was stationed even though I had my towel, shoes, bag and the rest of my gear all laid out the people next to me kindly shifted their stuff down so I could squeeze my bike in with out having to move everything. Speaking of the people next to me in transition, I ran into some people I had seen at Bluff Creek, I only recognized them because the guy was wearing a Bluff Creek T shirt and one of the girls he was with raced for the University of Iowa Tri Hawks, anyway I heard some amazingly outlandish stories of things they have seen and or done at Tri's. Every good transition story should start with, "At least I didn't get as wasted last night as the last race, I probably could have gotten a DUI on my bike that day" and I also heard a story about a girl getting buck naked in transition in front of everyone at an Ironman event after the swim before changing into her bike clothes. Easily the highlight of my day was listening to them share some crazy stories.

Headed down to the beach to get a warm up swim in before our pre race meeting. The water was very warm, no wetsuit for this race which at first made me a little nervous but after my warm up I felt very confident and ready to go.

Swim:
Nothing I say in this section is going to be as interesting as one particular item so I'm just going to get this nugget out of the way now...I threw up in the water during the swim...now back peddle for just a minute. The swim started in 4 waves, 3 minutes apart and I was in the second wave. I started off nice and easy but quickly found myself swimming alone with 4 or 5 guys from my wave ahead and the rest behind me. I was going along pretty good and got into a very comfortable rhythm early, I even passed a couple of people from the wave ahead of me which surprised the heck out of me. After the turn around at half way my stomach started feeling a little tight and queasy, I had eaten my regular breakfast but I grabbed a bagel from the hotel before leaving and I think that little bit extra was too much in my stomach and that's when I first thought I might vomit, I was just hoping to make it out of the water. With a quarter of the swim left to go I pushing a little harder and when I turned my head to breathe it just happened, I threw up in the water, not much but enough that if there had been anyone behind me they would have been in for a surprise. I instantly felt better and powered my way into the beach. I finished up the 1500 meter swim in 24:37, which I was extremely happy with my goal was to come out in 30 mins.

Transition was a lot easier with out a wet suit to deal with but I took my time to collect myself and make sure I had everything before heading out T1 was in 1:27 quick but easily could have gone faster, but happy none the less.

Bike:
Like I said earlier the bike starts of with a pretty good hill that really kind of zapped me right away, but after recovering for minute I was able to put in to a big gear and get cranking. There was one more good size climb shortly after leaving the park after a big down hill where I hit a top speed of 41 miles per hour, when I saw that on my bike computer I got kind of nervous for a second but just held on for dear life and didn't even think about touching my brakes. The majority of the course was flat and on some of the stretches I got into my biggest gears and was hitting speeds of 25-27 mph I was worried that I was going to gas out for the second half of the ride and be left in a world of hurt for the run but the effort level was not the high. I shifted way forward on my seat which took a lot of the tension of my quads, hurt my under carriage to sit that far forward, but I can see the benefit of a tri bike putting you in a more forward position and saving your legs, can't wait til I can invest the money in one.

I passed quite a few people on the bike which really surprised me and didn't get passed my very many either, I was able to pass a couple of guys on one small hill towards the end before coming back into the park where there was probably the most dangerous downhill section. I knew it was going to be bad when I say the hay bails lining the side of the road, I slowed way down and made no attempt at hitting that turn at top speed especially with returning bikers making that same turn coming from the other direction. Coming into transition I felt really good and was hoping for a great time. I glimpsed at my watch and knew I was under 1:15 which was my goal, I officially finished the bike section in 1:14:19.

Transition 2 was uneventful and I was in and out in 1:07

Run:
I started off the run feeling pretty good, took it nice and slow up the first hill and then after start to pick up some speed I got passed right away by a younger kid and I pretty much rode his coat tails the whole way. On the run course I really got to experience how wonderful the volunteer staff was, they were super supportive yelling out encouragement and evening running along side of you to hand you water or gatorade so you wouldn't have to break stride or move over into a crowd. There was an aid station every mile or more and each had water, gatorade, bags of ice, cold sponges or towels, simply amazing support by this race.

The run itself went great, I never felt like I was pushing to hard even though as the race director described it was a very technical course with over 400 feet of elevation gain and loss. My goal was to run in 52 minutes or just under 8:30 pace and every time I would look down at my watch I would see my pace right where I needed it to be or under and that just fueled me to move a little faster. I ended up passing the kid I had been following at mile 5 and I told him I followed him the whole way now don't let me pass you now, he kept up with me towards the end and finished just after me. The last hill (which was the first) I was just in a controlled fall going down I topped out at 5 min mile pace which is smoking fast for me and darn near dangerous going down hill but I carried that momentum all the way through the last turn and passed the finish line in a run time of 51:05 and a total time of 2:32:35 which was good enough for 45th overall and first in the Clydesdale Division.

I'm really happy with this race, my goal was to go under 2:45 and I blew that out of the water, I never felt like I was pushing to hard and felt comfortable (well as comfortable as you can be in an endurance sport) throughout the whole race. I know I could have pushed harder if I had too, but it wasn't easy by any stretch.

This was truly an amazing event and it will be a must do for the future. I will say I was nervous and intimidated by the Olympic distance but after having done what I've been told is a very difficult course I can honestly say I really enjoyed it and can't wait to do another one.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Firecracker 10k Race Report

My day started at 4:30 with coffee and a waffle with peanut butter, my plan was to run 6 miles around the neighborhood before running down to the start of the race which is about 3 miles from my house. This would give me close to 9 miles before the race and would really give me a good idea of how I will feel running a 10k on tired legs, which is something I am going to have to deal with on the 14th as I attempt my first Olympic Distance Triathlon. I also wanted to try out a new drink combo I plan on using during the tri and see how it would feel on my stomach and this race was a perfect time to test it out.

After sweating through my first set of clothes I showered, changed and refueled and headed out to the race. Once i got there I ran into a number of friends and fellow LU members running this race, I had a couple offers to run with some people but i really did not want to turn this into a PR effort and just wanted to stick to the plan.

I did end up running the first couple of miles with Nick Sacco but after the 2 mile check point and the first hill, he was feeling strong and wanted to kick it up, I graciously declined to join him and locked into my desired pace of 8:30 min/mi.

Miles 2 - 4 went by with relative ease given the heat and humidity and this section is mostly flat, with some small hills, I took water at each and every station drinking half and dumping the rest on my neck and back trying to stay as cool as possible. I knew from running this race last year that mile 5 was where the fun began, with a slow decline down Archer Drive and then the last and most difficult hill. It was at this point I was joined by a guy who was running the 10k for the first time and i gave him a heads up that the fun was just getting started. He continued on and I did end up seeing him later on the hill and he was managing but noticeably slower.

After managing the hill myself it was all down hill and flat for the final mile. I recovered a bit on the down hill section and as we turned the corner I kicked it up a notch and finished strong crossing the line in 52:45, about 3 minutes slower than last year and 5 minutes off my 10k PR. I am very happy with my time considering the heat and the 9 miles beforehand. I feel confident that I can run right at or around 50 minutes for and Olympic Tri 10k after this race.

After the race I found Deanna and the boys and got ready for the 1 mile kids run. This was going to be Casey and Caden's first attempt at a distance other than a quarter mile and what a miserable day to try it out. Casey got a side stitch about .25 mile into the race so we walked and drank some water, Caden was roaring to go still but i wasn't going to let him run off by himself, so I made a deal with him that after the turn around once we saw the finish line he could run on ahead if he wanted to. We continued a pattern of running a couple minutes and walking through the turn around and made our way closer and closer to the finish. I was calling out words of encouragement to the boys and at one point Casey snapped at me and yelled "I can't think of anything happy I hurt too much", my only thought was welcome to running son. Once we got to where we could see the finish line I told Caden to go ahead and run on but he said he wanted to finish with Casey...I couldn't have been more proud of him at that moment. Casey got a surge of energy knowing the end was near and with that both boys took off and made a mad dash for the finish crossing the line together in 12:26, not a bad mile time considering how much we walked. I was so proud of both boys desire and effort to finish, the real payoff of all my training was seeing the influence it has on them come through in that race, I'm more proud of that then any race I've ever run.let

Until next time... Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

Bluff Creek Triathlon Race Report

Sunday was my first ever triathlon event and even though I was devastated with the news of my Grandfather's passing on Saturday, I was encouraged by Deanna to go ahead and compete and in hindsight I'm truly glad that I did. Not only was it a good day race-wise but it was very therapeutic as I thought about my Grandpa a lot that day.

I want to say thank you to Aaron, Chad and Jeff for helping make it a great first event for me, it was comforting knowing I had others there to rely on in getting prepared for the race and share the experience with. You also helped make what could have been a really terrible day a little bit better with good camaraderie and providing me with just the escape I needed to help start the healing process.

We headed out a little after 3 for the drive up to Ames to pick up our packets, after some evasive driving due to some interesting driving like one person coming to a complete stop on the highway to make an illegal U turn we arrived safely to packet pick up. We got registered, looked over course maps and checked on rules for the race and then decided to hit up Pizza Ranch for a nice big pre race meal. Now I'm pretty sure a group of 4 guys has put a beat down on a Pizza Ranch buffet a time or 2 but I'm sure it's not every day it gets worked over the way it did Saturday night. Surprisingly it wasn't even any of the 3 guys who would be competing as Clydesdales (aka over 200 lbs or as I call it the Fat Guy division) but the svelte, lean, mean 150 lb professional triathlete did the most damage. After 3 or 4 or 5 rounds with pizza, salad, bread sticks, cactus bread and ice cream we finally tapped out and headed off to find our hotel in Boone.

When we arrived we found our hotel to be located a mere 1/4 mile from the local speedway which was hosting a race that night, to say it was loud was an understatement we were all a little concerned about getting sleep, but much to our surprise the Super 8 must have accounted for the speedway when it was built because we found it considerably quieter in the room than outside.

We some how managed to cram 4 guys, 4 bikes multiple bags of all the stuff you need for a triathlon into a tiny room with 2 beds. I was perfectly fine taking a sleeping bag on the floor, Chad was smart enough to bring along an air mattress for himself and Aaron and Jeff each took a bed. I feel bad for Jeff he had been battling a cough and was overly concerned about keeping us awake and even though we all assured him he wouldn't bother us he did end up sleeping out in his car at one point. He said it actually was better for his cough since he couldn't lay flat, I know the only time he woke me up was when he left the first time and he had to step over me to get to the door. I was out like a light 5 seconds after the tv was turned off and slept very well all things considered. I woke up around 4:30 and got up shortly after to go find some coffee and get started with the day.

After a good breakfast which consisted of a peanut butter and nutella sandwich with 2 cups of coffee and about 16 oz of my own special chia fresca blend I was ready to head out. After getting parked and unloaded we made our way to the transition area, I wish I had taken more pictures to document but I didn't, oh well. I had a pretty decent idea of how I wanted to lay out my transition area to get me in and out quickly and I think it worked pretty well. Me and Chad took off for a brief warm up run and then made our way back to get in our wet suits and line up for the bus ride over to the beach for the swim start.

Swim
I was honestly most afraid of the swim, I hadn't done any open water swimming and I wasn't sure how I was going to react hitting the water with 50 other people all fighting for the same area to swim. My goal was to let everyone go and just stay out of the way, but as we were running in I couldn't help but get in the mix of things. I was crammed in to start and it was a little unnerving at first, but after awhile I was able to find some clear space and I just swam. Well much to my surprise the reason I was in the clear is because I was drifting off course and heading on the inside of the buoys that we were supposed to stay on the outside of. When I lifted my head up to spot I realized I was to the right and I could see a canoe heading my way to instruct me to move over, I immediately hung a left and got back on line. I was able to stay right next to and slightly behind another swimmer and just followed his feet the rest of the way. I remember at one point this guy has got to be getting tired of me slapping his leg but I really had no where else to go and I wasn't fast enough to pass him. I was really surprised at how calm I remained during the swim, it went a lot better than I had expected and I feel a lot more confident about my swimming now than before. Once I made it to the boat dock I exited the water to make the run to the transition area, it was quite a hike up and honestly I think the run from the swim to the transition area wore me out more than the swim itself. My transition went perfect I took my time but with a sense of urgency, got my helmet, shoes and sunglasses on grabbed my bike and was off.

Bike
The bike portion started off with an incline out of the transition area so it was a little slow starting but once I hit flat ground I was able to build some steam. There was a strong cross wind that was slightly in our face as we went out and it did make for some tough stretches, I got passed by a number of riders, all of which had fancy tri bikes, only a couple of people on road bikes passed me and I eventually re passed all or most of them. Once we made the turn around the wind was more to my back and I was able to pick up some speed and able to pass some more people. For the most part the bike was uneventful went very smooth, I did think a lot about my Grandpa and that helped to power me through some of the tougher parts. After making my way back into the transition area it was time for the run, I dropped of the bike switched shoes and was off.

Run
My legs felt surprisingly good coming off the bike, and I was very happy that the first 1/4 mile or so was on dirt/gravel, I love running off road and wouldn't have minded if the whole course was like that, but unfortunately it did turn to pavement. Going into the race I was most confident about the run, and I knew that I could pick up some time there. I immediately passed some people as they were getting there legs under them and just kept picking up steam. Once I made it to the turn around I opened it up and started to fly (by my standards of course), I was able to pass a few more guys and had one last person in my sights as I made it back on to the dirt portion. As we rounded one last turn the volunteers yelled at me to go catch that guy and I took off on a mission, as I got closer to him I saw the age group number on his calf read 60 and I thought to myself I can't let a 60 yr old beat and I made a final push to pass him and sprinted the rest of the way to the finish to cross the line at 1:22:55. Afterwards the 60 yr old congratulated me and commented that I sounded like a freight train running him down, I replied back Well I kind of am a freight train, and told him how I saw his age and thought I have to pass this guy. It turns out he was the 60-64 age group winner and from Bettendorf.

I ended up taking 3rd in the Sprint Clydesdale division, Chad took 1st place in the Sprint Clydesdale, Aaron dominated the Olympic Clydesdale and took 1st, and Jeff took the overall in Olympic distance. All in all it was a great day for the LU crew, 3 top spots and everyone took home hardware.

To say that I am pleased with my performance is an understatement, I went in with no goals other than to survive the swim, finish the race and maybe go under 1:30. Not only did I take 3rd place in my division but I finished in the top third overall for all sprinters. It was a great first race, I may have set the bar a little high though but I'm doing this because its fun not for a medal (don't get me wrong the medal is cool). Can't wait till June 16th for the Quad City Tri hoping everything goes as good there. Took today off from training, planning on hitting the bike and swim hard this week while I give my legs a break from running, they need it.

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.

QC Distance Classic Race Review

Getting ready to write up my race review of my first Triathlon I remembered I completely neglected to write a race review of the QC Distance Classic, so here goes.

Race started off pretty well, I was running with a buddy from LU, Jay G. who had a pretty similar time goal. The first mile was pretty quick and a little deceiving since it is a gradual downhill slope. Mile 2 starts with the only uphill section and I felt pretty good chugging up hill, for some reason I like running uphill. At this point Aaron M. and Chad U. caught up and passed us, I knew they both had more aggressive goals for this race so I was happy to follow them for awhile and hopefully pick up some time on my goal. This may have been a mistake, somewhere around mile 3 when we were hitting 7:45 pace and Aaron, Chad and now Jay were all pulling away from me I realized I was not going to be able to hold that pace for another 10 miles and I had to make a decision to just let them go. Luckily for me at this point in the race there was a lone port-a-john and even though I didn't "need" to go I decided to stop anyway, that would allow the other 3 to move far enough a head that I wouldn't see them anymore and I could just run my own race. As I was diving into the port-a-john I heard someone yell out "No Josiah, don't stop" I didn't realize it was Nick and Katie, other LU running mates till I passed them a little later on a down hill section.

After making our way down to the District and we lost all the glorious tree cover it started getting warm and I was starting to feel it. I was 5 miles in and felt like I was starting to lose it and might mentally break. As I was heading towards Sunset Marina Katie passed me and asked how I was doing, I told her I had felt better and I was getting hot, she ran just in front of me for a while before taking off. I was joined shortly after by Nick as we were getting into the marina, and it was just in time too. Nick kept me company (and kept me moving at a good pace) while he told me how he had recently proposed to his girlfriend down at Sunset Park. The combination of Nick's company, the shade of tree cover again, and 2 water stations really revived me and as we hit the 10 mile mark I was suddenly feeling very good again and started to pull away from Nick, he encouraged me to get going and I did.

A little after mile 10 I could see Chad just up ahead as he was pulling over to the side under a tree, as I went by him I tried to give him some encouraging words, Nick saw him too and stopped to talk with him. I guess he got light headed and his heart rate shoot up real high. Later after the run we were talking about it and he figured he didn't carb load enough the days leading up to the race and he was just out of fuel. He still managed to finish strong which is a testament to his drive and determination, had I been in his situation I may have called it a day.

The last 2 miles I ended up running with a guy who was training for Ultra distances and was running his first road race, we chatted a little and fell into a nice rhythm. At the 12 mile marker I told him I was going to turn it up and finish strong and he said he was going to try and keep up. I passed a number of people on the last mile, some who were moving pretty slow and even walking, digging deep for the last little bit to get them to the finish. It's always amazing to see people push themselves beyond their limits to keep going, to keep putting one foot in front of the other dedicated to relentless forward motion.

Rounding the turn back into Augustana and making the way onto the track I kicked it up a notch and was ready to sprint to the finish in the last 200 yards but right in front of me was a trio of women who had all clasped hands to finish together and I wasn't going to ruin their moment by being an ass and sprinting around or through them for a couple extra seconds off my time. I coasted across the finish line in 1:43:45 for a new PR shaving nearly 7 minutes off my time from last year. I was very happy with my performance, not because I set a PR, but because at one point when I was feeling pretty awful around the 5 or 6 mile mark I had thought about quitting and just calling it a day. Looking back on it now, it wasn't anything physical that was going to make me quit, but it was a moment of weakness mentally that almost convinced me that physically I wasn't capable of doing it. I have found with endurance sports that being mentally strong is just as important, if not more important than being physically capable. All the training in the world won't do you a bit of good if your mind convinces you to quit or that you can't do it. Oh and it helps to have friends on the course who come along at just the right moment to carry you through the rough miles too...

Until next time...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.