It was 1999

and I did not run.

I had lived in Arizona for 4 years.

I was in my third year of being a Realtor.

My kids were 6 and 9 years old. Little ones at the elementary school.

Amy and I celebrated our 13th anniversary.

I was 38 years old.

I drove a Mercury Sable.

Amy still worked for May Department Stores in the Credit Department.

It was two years before we took our kids to Disney World. See picture

It was two years before the world changed.

Ten Years Later

I'm older, my kids are taller.

I run 15-25 miles per week.

Amy is a Realtor and I have been for 14 years.

We've lived in Az for 14 years.

I've run 3 Marathons, 11 half marathons and over 50 races.

Amy's made a half dozen quilts or more.

I drive a 2004 Honda Pilot.

Tyler's a Freshman at the U of Arizona.

Emily is soon to become a senior in high school.

Both kids drive!

I've been to California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, Utah and just over the border into Mexico. (during this decade)

And today starts a new decade. It should be fun!

My Running Miles

Just short of 800 miles this year. Two injuries slowed me down. The first was an ankle issue that limited my miles in the summer and the second was a left calf issue that I'm currently dealing with.

I'm hoping to do over 1000 miles in 2010 and race many more 5k, 10k, half and full marathons. The first marathon is supposed to be the PF Chang's Rock N Roll here in Arizona on January 17th. I'm thinking with this calf issue I am going to either cut back to the half or DNS it all together.

London's Run - Queen Creek, Arizona

For two hundred yards we ran. Faster than we ran all day. We could see the finish line and as I ran faster, so did she. With a smile, I said to this stranger, "Are we racing?"

"Yes", was the only thing she said. We were moving fast, but it seemed as if time had stopped. I was now looking at her feet. Our legs in sync. With about 100 yards to go, I decided to go a little faster and with that I was gone. Crowds yelling for us. A run that had been going on for 2 hours and 26 odd minutes, boiled down to a 'duel in the desert'. This was how I finished a wonderful day of running in Queen Creek, Arizona.

This is a charity run to raise money for kids battling cancer. London was such a kid. There was a table (pictured) with pictures of all the kids. The race was held at Schnepf's Farm, an agritainment farm southeast of Phoenix proper. About 50 minutes from my home. I felt like I was going to the county fair as my car was in line to park in the field with less than 30 minutes until race time.

I had to make a decision. Run the 10k or run the half. I decided 13 miles would be good distance today and I had reason to run it anyway.

As you might know, I visit the Runner's World forum and leave posts and comments. There's a few of us Arizonans that do. One guy is AZ Nick in Queen Creek. We've discussed meeting at a race, but our race schedule never lined up. Lately, I and a few others convinced Nick he was ready to run a HM. He picked this race to run with a relative. Then, that relative bailed on him and he was preparing to run it alone.

Now Nick seemed like a nice guy, but I only knew him from RW and facebook. Do I want to run for over 2 hours with a stranger? What happens if we can't stand each other? One of us would have to suck it up and run away.

Nick called right as I was entering the porta potty. I told him I'd call him back. We finally met. I got to meet his wife and BIL. They ran the 10k. I told Nick I'd run with him and we decided to do his 4 minutes of running and 40 seconds of walking pattern for an 11 mpm pace. Nick's 4 minutes were long. And his 40 seconds were short. Seriously, we did skip some of the walk breaks and we settled into doing sub 11 mpm miles for the first 4 and then 11 to 11:35 miles the rest of the way.

The course was beautiful. Queen Creek is pretty flat. We had mountains to look at, but for the most part we were running in between farm fields. Lots of dirt roads and a few closed country roads. All straight aways, but lots of turns and in one section you go back and forth three times. The race started with us running past about 5 horses that were running in the pasture.

Nick and I talked the whole way. Kinda like when Karen and Lisa run. But, not about pedicures or tissue paper. We talked running. Jobs. Men stuff. After about 2 miles, I knew we would be running the whole race together and that it would be a pleasure.

I started running with my Phoenix Coyotes sweatshirt. Nick's a big time Coyotes fan, so he was alarmed that I was going to leave it road side. I did at the four mile point. Never to see it again. But, after the race as I was watching them award medals to the 10k winners, I looked down and saw a Coyotes sweatshirt. It was old and beat up and I'm thinking, "oh, someone has a sweatshirt just like mine. Wait, it is mine." The volunteers picked it up and my sweatshirt beat me to the finish line.

The last three miles Nick and I were trying to figure out if we could a) finish under 2:30, b) finish under 2:27:09 (my PR). I kept doing the math, looking at my garmin and telling Nick what we needed to do. Our start was 15-20 seconds late and we did a short stop so I could refill my water bottle. With half a mile left we knew that 2:30 was in the bag, but could I get a PR? As a side note, I wear my garmin really tight. The picture below is what my wrist looked like after the race. I mean 30 minutes after. I guess I plumped up during the race.


Back to the race, Nick and I had a final turn to make and then it was about 200 yards to the finish. I said let's go and started running hard. That's when I caught up to the 'lady in black' that was a willing racer.

In I came at 2:27:15 or 6 seconds over my best time. No PR today. But, a great run anyway.

Race Stats

It was great weather (60's), a great location, a great time and a great volunteer group. But, what made it best was running with Nick in his first half. It's the first half marathon I've run with someone. From start to finish. We are close to the same speed and we enjoyed each other's company. I know that if I ran this today, by myself I would have been 2:34 or more. Easy. Nick and I paced each other well.

So, there it is. London's Run Half Marathon is HM #10 and the second one this month. It's the second fastest HM I've run.

At lunch I saw this license plate:

Back in the day, when Steve Prefontaine was running for Oregon and was one of the best runners in America, a rival school had t-shirts made. They simply said, "Stop PRE".

Book #10

On a day when I ran my 10 half marathon, I finished book #10. "Home and Away" by Scott Simon. You may know Simon from either the Today Show or from NPR's Weekend Edition. He wrote about Chicago sports and how it was a part of his life. I didn't know Simon or was interested in Chicago sports, but my BIL gave me the book. So I read it. Great chapters about the Bears when the did the shuffle and about the six championship years for the Bulls.

Rock 'N' Roll Mile by mile

Mile 1 (10:23):

30 minutes to start and then an air horn. Not very exciting. Candace and I are running together at a 10:30 pace. Just the speed I want, but Candace is chomping at the bit. Not that she’s a horse, just using the metaphor. Lots of runners, but plenty of room to run. Some weaving, as expected. The first mile went great. My feet would hurt all day, but I expected that. What I didn’t expect was a weird feeling in my right knee. It would go away, but later in the day it was tender.

Mile 2(10:15):

I shed my sweatshirt onto the sidewalk. Then Candace points out the guy collecting the clothes for Goodwill. Oh well. The run is going well. We are still doing 10:30 miles, but everyone once in a while I see a 9:xx pop up and I have to slow us down. It’s Candace’s first half, so I try to be the sage and not let us flame out in the first half of the race. I was glad we were banking some time. 11 minute miles was the plan and I knew I would need these seconds later on.

Mile 3(10:18):
I suggest to Candace that we take a walk break. I know I told her that was my plan before. She says she plans to maybe take a break at 4 and 8 miles only. I’m thinking, why didn’t you mention this before today? We agree to part ways and I tell her I’ll catch up later. I’m sure she thought, “right, like that’s gonna happen.”. I knew it too. Good luck, Candace and God’s speed. She finished 5 minutes ahead of me in her first half marathon ever.

Mile 4(11:01):
I did take about a 20 second break at the 5k water stop. I’ve been doing 10:xx miles and haven’t been spending time taking in any of the scenery. Just running. Said, “Go Boilermakers” to a West Lafayette runner. He appreciated it. Then a little while later I saw a central Ohio runner and said, “Go Buckeyes”. She appreciated it too. Saw a Michigan runner and resisted the idea of tripping her. This was the first plus 11 mpm due to the walk break.

Mile 5(10:20):
Back on track. Running by myself. Two years ago I remembered checking out all the buildings along McDowell. This year I don’t remember doing that as much. I still saw the weird ‘Chinese lettering’ over the street. It’s not really kanji, but everyone thinks it is.

Mile 6(11:38):
I get to the half way point and I don’t remember any of the bands, except for the Buddy Holly tribute band and the one band that was on break. I’ve passed 8 bands at this point. None of the water stops volunteers had any crazy costumes. At the full marathon last year, the creativity was great. Water stops and cheer squads had themes. Not so much on the half course this year. My pace has slowed and is up in the mid 11’s. This was to be the first of six straight miles over 11. Don’t know why I didn’t do a little self coaching at this point.

Mile 7(11:30):
Turning off McDowell onto 44th. I do remember seeing the Chinese Cultural Center. Throughout the entire race the Team In Training fans cheered long and loud. I wore my TnT shirt from the 2007 race when I was a member. Now as an Alum, I appreciate them yelling my name, which was printed on the front. This will probably be the last for this shirt. It’s a bit big on me.

Mile 8(11:16):
Gu city. This is where they hand out packets of Gu. The volunteers do a great job of yelling out the flavors. I took a vanilla and a tri berry. Ate the tri berry and I still have the vanilla. I had a mint chocolate that I didn’t eat either. For the race I had 5 pieces of Power Bar Gel Blasts. I really like them. One Gu. Half a Gatorade before the race. Seemed to be the right amount. Anyway on mile 8 the road is littered with all these gu packets, then all the water cups. I thought about picking up the packets, because Gu will give you free packets for every so many you mail to them. Gu’s attempt at cleaning up the environment.

Mile 9(11:35):
Van Buren Street. Or the hill. Think of the crookedest street in the world. You know, the one in San Francisco that all the tourist go to see that’s very steep and very crooked. The Rock ‘N’ Roll HM hill isn’t. It’s a nice incline for a quarter mile or so. It’s one of the few spots on the course where you can see the backs of runners in the distance. I ran some of it and walked some of it.

Mile 10(11:48):
The race director needed to added some mileage to the course when they had to detour out of downtown Tempe. They did this by having us go down a street and up a parking lot (Oakland A’s stadium lot). It’s a small hill with a band and bathrooms at the top. My family was at the bottom, so I got to spend a couple minutes chatting before I made a bee line for the porta potties. I do appreciate them coming out to the race to see me for less than a minute.

Mile 11(11:19):
You’re in Papago park, but on a road in an industrial section. Not very scenic. In the distance I could see ‘A’ Mountain. Or the mountain next to the finish line. It looked so close, but still 2 miles away. It seemed it wasn’t getting closer. It’s a slight incline too. I was passing quite a few runners at this point. Seemed like a lot of folks were walking and in the ‘getter done’ mode. Two years ago, I was one of them. I was cramping and miserable. I stopped at a porta potty with no success. It was probably the most miserable I have ever been running. That was then. On this day I was starting to get my groove back.

Mile 12(10:59):
Up and over the Tempe bridge. All I saw was the pavement. I don’t remember the decorative stone sides. I don’t remember the lake below. I’ve run over this bridge many times and it’s beautiful. Today it was just ground to cover and I needed to run if I wanted a PR. All day I was looking to my garmin to keep pace. I needed 11 minute miles. I’d do the math at every mile and I was ahead for the longest time. Here, on the bridge I knew that if I ran I had a shot at beating 2:27:41. My pace was slightly over 11 mpm, but I knew I had a small cushion. Not enough to walk, however.

Mile 13(10:42):
You come off the bridge and make a left hand turn onto Rio Salado Av. Lots of fans to run past. It’s my favorite part of the course. You know you are close and you can feed off the cheering. I picked up the pace and was under 10 minute miles, but had to slow down. I still had a ways to go. I kept running. I think I ran the last mile as strong as I could.

The last .1(8:40):
Off the road and into the parking lot. Lots of fans and cheering. Knowing it was going to be close, I was running in the 8’s. I was weaving around folks and I didn’t care about the finish photo or anything but the time on my garmin. I did see the gun clock read 2:5x:xx. My garmin read 2:25:xx and I knew I had a PR. As I’m walking after I got my medal, it hit me. The garmin didn’t account for my family visit or the porta potty. I must have missed the PR. What did the gun clock say. I think it said 2:59, minus the 30 minute late start and my time will be 2:29. No PR. I stopped in my tracks. NO PR! I missed it by a few minutes. I recalculated. No way I spent 4 minutes with the family and in the porta potty. It would be close and I’ll find out at home.

The Ride Home: I thought about the race and how I felt like I ran a smart even race. I was ok with it, regardless of the PR question. I planned to stop at Firehouse Subs to get a sandwich and then go watch the Cardinals play for the NFC Championship(on tv). Then I realized the sub shop has tv’s and they’ll be watching the game. I dvr’d it and didn’t want to know the score. I ended up going to Baja Fresh instead. Got home and immediately went to the computer where I learned that indeed I PR’d by 18 seconds. The fish tacos I had couldn’t have tasted better.

P.F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Expo

I went to the Expo earlier today. I'm always amazed by how expensive the stuff at the expo is. I spent less than $10. Not gonna spend $24 bucks or more for a tee shirt. Not gonna spend $98 for a jacket. I'm just not gonna do it.
I did like the race tee. But, I wouldn't spend $24 for it. At the Expo I got to say hi to Bart Yasso. I haven't read his book, so I just had him sign my race bib and didn't talk to him much. I would have sat down for his talk, but I didn't want to bore Amy.

Did you know?

Did I tell you I won my age division at the Paloma PTA 5k? I beat the other guy by over 23 minutes. You gotta love small races. Yeah, I said the other guy, as in the only. other. guy. in. my. age. group.

Did a mile tonight in a little over 11 minutes. One mile gets my streak to 22. Even Ripken didn't play all 9 innings of every game.

Two teams in the Biggest Loser are from my neck of the woods. Cousins Sione Fa of Maricopa and Filipe Fa of Mesa. Dane and Blaine are BIL's from Mesa and Gilbert. Let's see if they can do what Ali Vincent did last season.

Race Checklist:

Current running shoes
running socks
Body Glide
Running shorts
Race shirt - I wear my TnT shirt from my first half.
Throw away sweatshirt (I got it for $2 at Goodwill).
ball cap
sunglasses
garmin w/ strap
Gu's, gels, nourishment

salt packet for pre race
fanny pack (on short runs I like to have my own drink, on long runs I use it to keep my gu's and cell/camera.)

money in fanny pack.
Race Bib, safety pins. I put it on the race shirt, as soon as I have it.
Place timing chip on shoe, asap
two sets of bandaids . one pair gets safety pinned to the backside of the race bib.
Race morning breakfast.
Slippers for after the race (I leave these in the car)
Sweat shirt for after the race
towel
change of clothes

Gatarade for pre race drink in large mouth bottle (in case I need to use it as a porta potty)
Gifts for my supporters (I haven't done this yet, but it would be nice if I had something small for my wife, kids or anyone else that comes out to watch me run)

Am I forgetting anything?

Mom and Dad out for a visit.

My life gets completely turned upside down when we have relatives visit. My office at home is the guest bedroom, so I end up working all over the house and I don't get as much work done. My folks were in town from last Wednesday until this morning.

It's great to see them. They are in their 70's with some health issues. So, the routine is they get out here and we sit around the house for a week. They're not up to going sight seeing or even to a restaurant. So, no spring training, no hiking, no zoo, no restaurants, no movies, no malls, no mountians, no museums. You get the picture.

But, we had a great time. Amy did take my mom to play bingo at the Gila River Casino which they both enjoyed. I think bingo is the devils game, so I stayed home with dad. Luckily, we got to see Ohio State beat Georgetown and lose to Florida in the Championship. Not exactly the outcome we wanted, but it was fun to watch on TV. We got to see the Suns beat up on the Dallas Mavericks, we got to see the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies and we got to see our beloved Cincinnati Reds win on opening day against the Chicago Cubs. We had some great home cooking. My dad, mom and Amy all took turns cooking. My dad taught my daughter how to make his special cheesecake. It was awesome. All in all, it was a great visit.

I took them to the airport this morning. Not sure if or when they'll get to come out to Arizona again. I think they would be just as happy if we made the trip to Ohio to visit. Which we will in July.

So, today April 3rd, 2007 is the start of my 2007 Summer Training Program. A five month program to get my weight under 200 pounds, my 5k time under 29 minutes and to prepare for when the temps start to fall again.

The last two weeks have been for rest and renewal. I needed to get over the aches and pains that have built up. I tried running, but could only make it about 20 yards with pain in my left knee every time I came down on that side. I ended up walking twice for about 2 to 2.5 miles each time. On Saturday, March 31st I went for a run around 11 am. It was a beautiful day, the temps were pushing 80, so I'll have to start running at night or early in the morning until the weather breaks (read October). I started running and noticed that my left knee did not hurt and the run felt good. I ran for about a mile and then took a walking break. I did ran/walked for a total of 4.14 miles and only stopped because I didn't want to over do it. And my wife was unloading the groceries from the car with my 73 year old mother. It would have looked bad if I would have waved to them and kept on running. I helped them unload and was very happy with the run. Sunday,Monday and Today I had no pain and I am looking forward to running tonight.

The next five months I am going to:

1. Strenghten my running muscles, so that I don't have any more knee problems.
2. Get my mileage up to 25-30 miles per week.
3. Watch my diet. Eat more veggies and fruits.
4. Lose 6 pounds a month.

Valley of Gold Half Marathon

Saturday started off great with a victory by Ohio State Basketball. It was over Xavier, a catholic Cincinnati school. It's always nice to see Xavier do well, but OSU has the best chance to win it all.

After watching the game, I took off for Tucson. My car told me it was 96* outside. It felt it and I realized it was going to get warm during my run on Sunday morning.

I have to confess. I'm not going to drink 45 beers all year, let alone on St. Patrick's Day. Matter of fact, I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day much. I just think you should be proud to be Irish for other reasons than for the ability to get drunk. But hey, I may be the only Monahan to feel that way.

I decided to take a scenic drive down to Tucson, by way of Florence, AZ. Florence is known for the state prison and if someone says they've been to Florence, it probably means they were visiting relatives at the pen. I didn't visit, but I did get pictures of the county seat and this beautiful church. They are raising money to repair the court house clock tower, which reminded me of "Back to the Future". I then drove down state routes 77 and 79, which is just stunning. If you like the desert and want to see Sagauro's, Cholla and other plants of the desert, this is the drive.

Now this road is best known for the site where Tom Mix, the TV cowboy died in a car wreck. So, the good state of Arizona was nice enough to put up a memorial. You'll see in the picture, it is at a rest stop with picnic benches and bbq's. Good thing he didn't have his accident 5 seconds earlier or it wouldn't be so conveinent (bad joke).

I didn't take many pictures at the race itself. Here's the (blurry) start and another one of the Catalina Mountains.

So, here's my race report. I wanted to PR, so anything under 2:43:07 would do the trick. I stayed at the Red Roof Inn ($81.00) at Ina Road and I-10. Right next to the rail road tracks. That's right, all night long I heard trains blowing their horns at the intersection. I mean, several an hour, all night long. I didn't know we had that many trains in the US. I thought there was going to be a health expo on Saturday, but I was wrong. So I learned, don't rely on buying gu's and gels at the expo.

I got up at 5 am for my 7 am race start. Stopped at Circle K (like a 7-Eleven) for coffee and a danish. Remember Circle K, we beat them in softball. In Arizona, there's a Circle K on every corner, except for the corners that have Walgreens. Got to the start line with plenty of time to warm up and see some fellow TnT'ers. I wore my TnT race shirt, since this is a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society race. From parking lot to the start line is uphill, luckily there was a shuttle, but I figured that this was a warning that this race would have hills. And hills it had. This course was in a master planned community. Many neighborhoods named Honey Bee, Sun City, Vitosio, etc. built by a bunch of different builders. The race was on the main road through the community in a semi circle. 6.55 miles out and then we turned around and headed back in. The last 1.5 miles of the route (the middle miles) took a couple of turns into one of the neighborhoods. I kept thinking that each turn would be the last, but I was fooled 2 or 3 times, even thought I had my Nike+ to tell me when we reached the half way point. I guess I was just wishing to get to the half of this half.

Most of the race featured me passing the same dozen people and then walking as they passed me. Four ladies with TnT shirts, two gentleman who looked like father and son (they both were about my size and the son was a bit younger than I), a younger guy (maybe early 30's) who had on basketball shorts (real long, real heavy) and a few others.

Around mile 8, the sun was in full force and I bet we were in the upper 70's. It was beginning to take it's toll on me.

Around mile 9, I did some math and figured I needed to do 12 minute miles for the last 4.1 to have a chance at a PR. I quickly figured I was going to NOT PR. My legs hurt, it was hot and every other excuse for not PR-ing. But, hey - I can have a good time and not PR. It was going to be ok.

Somewhere around miles 10,11 and 12 I decided I needed to cool down. At one water stop, I took one water, told the lady to pour the other water on my back. I poured the first one on my chest and then grabbed a gatorade to drink. At another water stop I poured the water into my cap and put the cap on. That felt good and was probably better than drinking the water. I should have done it more.

The last turn on the course brought us to about 1/2 mile from the finish and it was downhill. I ran it pretty well and even turned on the afterburners for the last 50 yards. As I crossed the finish I looked at the clock. 2:43:11, just 4 seconds from my time at the Lost Dutchman Half one month earlier. That's ok. I had a good run and felt proud that I could run almost as fast. As I finish I have to turn off my HRM and Nike+. I looked down at the HRM watch and hit stop to see a time of 2:42:53. I forgot about my chip time. I had started the race 20 some seconds after the start and I did indeed have a PR. A PR by 14 seconds. I had a great time either way, but a PR sure is nice. Those trains can toot their horns at that.

My All Time Five Favorite Runs

1. PF Chang’s Rock N’ Roll 2007 Half Marathon January, 2007

My first half marathon. Loved the crowds, atmosphere, bands and it was the first time I ran a long distance and not had to retrace my steps. It was from downtown Phoenix to ASU. The final 100 yards in front of thousands of people, with the announcer calling out my name is something I’ll never forget.

2. Lost Dutchman 2007 Half Marathon February 2007

Oh so scenic. Views of the Superstition Mountains, running thru the desert on dirt roads and hills. I even beat my time from the Rock N’ Roll half ran one month before.

3. Bumble Bee 2006 Big Balloon 5k in San Diego

Ran in downtown San Diego along the bay. At the start of the race, they had grandstands full of people getting ready to watch the parade for the Holiday Bowl (Texas A& M v. California) and we got to start the race in front of them.This was a PR too.

4. My First 10 miler in Gilbert 11/18/2006

Ran along the canal all by myself. I thought it was a big deal at the time to get into double digits. The last half mile, I had to cross Gilbert Road in middle of the Gilbert Days Parade. I even got a few cheers from people watching the parade as I ran right down the street between floats. For some reason there was a large gap at the perfect time.

5. First Run – June, 2006

For some reason, in the middle of the summer in Arizona (yes it was over 100 degrees), I put on my runnin’ shoes and ran about 1/10 of a mile. I finished walking around the block and was convinced I was a runner. Total mileage for that day was about ¾ of a mile and I haven’t looked back yet.

5. Run for Brooke, Sept., 2006

This is probably tied with my first run. Less than 3 months after my first run, I ran/walked my first 5k. I ran it in 42:15, but I felt great about it. I crossed the finish line, handed my camera to a spectator and then went and crossed it again to get a finish line picture.

Today’s Run:

I DNS’d two morning runs in a row, so I paid the price by running at 3 pm in the Arizona sun. It was in the mid 80’s and not a cloud in the sky. I just wanted to get in a 30-40 minute run and I did with a 30:15 for 2.56 miles. I could have gone further, but I was at my driveway and I was a bit concerned about my knee.

My Knee:

It used to hurt only when I first started walking. Getting up from my desk, car seat, etc. After I ‘loaded’ my knee 4-5 times the pain would go away and I’d be fine. Now it hurts then and for the first 3-4 minutes when I run. Then the pain goes away and I’m fine. I’ll ask about it when I see my doctor. I just got a blood test, so that she can tell me how well I’m doing lowering my cholesterol and weight. In the meantime, I will do the exercises that I found in the last issue of Runner’s World to strengthen my glutes, hips and quads and to stretch my IT band and other things.

Speaking of my legs, I went to see Body Worlds III at the Science Museum. I believe it is also in Dallas and Chicago. It is an amazing exhibit of the anatomy using real human cadavers. Yes, you see actual people that have donated there bodies to science. These bodies have had a type of plastic injected into them and you see them in different poses. If you get a chance, it is a most see. What impressed me most, was seeing an IT band. I’ve read about them in running articles, but to see one was pretty cool.

2007 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon

I am now a half marathoner. I ran my race and I'm very pleased with the results. I believe I finished around 2:47. My goal was to finish and enjoy the race. I did. I then wanted to finish under 2:50, which I did (I think) and finally I wanted to finish under 2:40. I missed this, but that's ok.

My day started after not getting much sleep last night. I woke at 5:30 am and left the house around 6:10 am. I had a bagel and planned to eat something at the start line food court. I dropped my car off at an ASU (Arizona State) garage, which no one was using. Walked to the north side of the finish area to the other parking, which everyone was using. This must have saved me half an hour. I then got in line for the bus ride to downtown Phoenix. There must have been 1000 people in front of me, but the line went fairly fast, until they ran out of buses. Then we waited. I was talking with two guys from the National Guard cross country team. I didn't even know they had sports in the National Guard. These guys were freezing there butts off. It was near 30 degrees and the sun had not come up yet. I wore sweats over my sweats, a full winter coat, a sweatshirt, gloves and a stocking cap. I planned to have most of that stuff transfer ed by UPS from the start to the finish. It worked out well. The gloves, were mismatched pair that I have had for over 10 years. I ditched them around mile 6. The sweatshirt was a Notre Dame model that I picked up at Goodwill yesterday for $2.48. And that included an older t-shirt from the 2005 Rock and Roll Marathon. Both looked brand new. At Goodwill I met another family that was doing the same thing I was. Buying throw away clothes for the RnR.

We got to the starting line a half hour before the gun. I had enough time to drop off my bag at the UPS truck, go to the bathroom and get in line. I was in corral 19. It took me half an hour to get to the start line. So, when we started, the leaders were probably at mile 6. No first place for us today.

The first 2 miles are through downtown Phoenix. It starts out at the state capitol and winds through a rough part of town. There was about 6 people with signs proclaiming that if you don't follow God, you gonna go to hell. It was interesting to say the least.

Boy, there were a lot of runners. We turned onto McDowell. A lot of people were chatting and having a good time at this point. I was enjoying all the atmosphere and before I knew it I saw the 5k sign and realized that I had run the entire time. I have never run a complete 5k before and I felt great, but it was time to take off the ND sweatshirt. I really liked the deal I got at Goodwill, so it was a bit sad to leave my new sweatshirt behind. I left it spread out on an unused drink table, so that ND fans could see it and be motivated by it.

I walked thru this drink stop and tried the Accelerade sport drink. I think I'll stick with gatorade. So, now I was running with only my TnT shirt and sweats. I had forgotten that I had put my name on my shirt. At this point a lady cheered me on by my name. I staired at her, trying to figure out how she knew me. I'm a little slow, but I figured it out. My name is on my shirt, dummy.



When I got tired I played a game. This was the first run I tried this and it worked pretty well. I would try to name three cities in each state. Some states I can name lots of cities, but the dakotas and Wyoming are tough ones. Anyhow, it kept my mind busy for a while. The other thing I did was ask fellow runners where they were from. I met people from Canada, Kansas City, Arizona, Boston, New York and a few other places.

I also, got a photo of me and Clark Kent while we were waiting to start the race. A fellow racer was dressed in a suit with a fedora that said, C. Kent, Reporter. He said he had Superman Tights on and that he would transform into the man of steel around the 12 mile mark. Pictures to follow soon. I got a picture of me and the Corona Del Sol Spirit line. That is the high school my son goes to. I actually used a disposable camera to take the pictures, so we'll have to wait for them.

At mile 9 I got to see my family. My wife, Amy. Son, Tyler and daughter, Emily were there to root me on. We then raced to the finish. I ran there before they could drive, park and walk to the finish line. Seeing them gave me a boost to the 10 mile mark.

Somewhere around the 10 or 11 mile mark I felt less than perfect. I made two stops at porta-potties, but that did not make me feel any better. I believe I lost a bunch of time between mile 10 and 12.

But all was not lost. I got my second wind as I started over the Tempe Bridge. Tempe Bridge is beautiful and it actually goes over water. A rarity in Arizona. The final mile I was passing people and I had a lot of energy. I believe I was doing about an 11 minute pace, which is pretty good for me.

At the finish I was all alone. There was a group in front of me about 10 yards and a group behind me about 10 yards. I was all alone for the finish photographer and the announcer said my name, mentioned how wonderful Team in Training was and asked me if I was a first time marathoner. With raised arms I said yes and the crowd gave me a pretty good cheer. Unfortunately, my family was still a bit a ways from seeing me. But, they did hear the announcer.

What impressed me most about the race, was the large number of Team in Training coaches and support people on the course. I bet there were TnT people cheering us on every half mile. I'll give you a report on my TnT experience later. But to say the least, the race day support from TnT was phenomenal. I will let them know about what a wonderful job they did today.

TnT also had a huge tent at the finish with drinks, food and seating. But do you know what I liked best at the finish? Spenco, the footcare people gave everyone a pair of slippers. Nice rubber slippers that felt soo much better than my running shoes at that point. I have spenco insoles now and I will continue, because I'm sold on Spenco now.

All in all, Elite racing did a fabulous job with the RnR Marathon here in Arizona and I'm now thinking about doing some of there other races. That is once, my legs and feet feel better.

Weather: We started the race at 30 degrees and finished at 41. The race organizers must have left the bananas out last night, because they were still pretty frozen at the end of the race. The Arizona Republic reported that it was the coldest low in Phoenix since 1990, or before I lived here. So, on the coldest day I've ever experienced in Phoenix, I got to run a half marathon. I actually felt fine until mile 11 when I felt cold and sick. But that was temporary.

Official Time: Elite Racing had some equipment malfunctions. I did not get a split for the 5k or the finish. I saw the clock when I finished read 3:17:xx. I know I started about 30 minutes after the gun. So I know my time is around 2:47-2:48:xx. As soon as I get my finish photo, I should be able to figure out my official time. My split for the 10 k was 1:11:11. 18 seconds off my PR from the Mesa Turkey Trot. My split for the 10.2 mile mark (I don't know why this distance) was 2:09:xx.

My Year In Review, 2006

See all my race t-shirts

The first half of last year I never, ever thought about going for a run. Not a jog, not anything faster than a leisurely hike and not any distance further than a mile or two. Then I went for a short one mile run in June. It was around 100 degrees out, but I went after sunset.

Since that first run I’ve run over 300 miles and have competed in 4 races. The longest of these races was a 10 kilometer or 6.2 miles on Thanksgiving Day morning. I have plans to run a 5k race in San Diego on the 28th of this month and then to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) in January.

Runs this week:

Wednesday – 5 miles in 1:00:22 at a 12:05 pace.
Thursday – 5 miles in 1:02:05 at a 12:20 pace.

Monthly mileage:

December: 42.5
November: 78.4
October: 70.9
September: 75.2
August: 60.8

Races:

9/2 “Run for Brooke” 5k 42:15
10/29 “Ghouls & Goblins” 5k 34:35
11/12 “New Times” 5k 34:00
11/23 “Turkey Trot 10k 1:11:05
12/28 "Bumble Bee-SD" 5k ????

unknown author

~~~~~~~~

Don't compare yourself to others.

Instead, focus on where you've been

versus where you are now

versus where you want to be.

~~~~~~~~~

So I guess I should recap where I've been. In my first post I talked about being able to run just a few houses before I was gasping for breath. But, that day I became a runner. On August 13th, I ran 3 miles in 47 minutes and I made a note in my journal that it was the "Best Run Yet!" On September 2nd I ran in my first organized race, "Run for Brooke" and I ran 3.1 miles (5K) in 42.17, a 13.38 pace. Last night I went for a 4 mile run at a 13 minute pace in 52 minutes flat. I used to think that 3 miles was a long run, but now 4 miles is just a typical run and anything under 3 miles is a short run. I'm hoping that when my 45th birthday comes around in November that 4 and 5 mile runs will be short one's and I will be doing double digits for my long runs.