My running has finally picked up again. I've had some good long runs lately. I took a cutback week last week but back to where I was this week.

My best race ever: Probably Mohawk-Hudson 2007. I finally broke four hours I ran about a 6 minute negative split. I felt great almost the whole race. My wife followed me on the course really diligently and took a lot of photos. I had a lot of friends at the finish cheering for me. It was just great all around

Other sports: I love watching baseball and men's and women's college basketball. I'll watch the NFL playoffs and kind of root for the Patriots but I'm by no means a fan.

Bonus: If we're talking music, it has to be the 60s. The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and that's just scratching the surface. Not that the other decades don't have great music, too, it's just not as good in my mind. However, if we're talking movies, I think I have to pick the 70s, although that's just ahead of the 80s. If we're talking sports, then the 80s since it's what I remember the most. It had Magic-Larry-Jordan in the NBA. Mets-Sox World Series. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.

I'm still struggling through the Gulf Coast Summer.  But the forecast says we should get some drier air over the next couple days with morning low temperatures maybe even getting all of the way down into the low 70s! 

RR - My best race was the 2003 Houston Marathon.  I'd only improved by about 10 minutes over the previous eight marathons (and five years).  But I increased my mileage substantially that Fall and had a good enough Fall series of runs to get a 'local invited runner spot' in the marathon (they were very generous that year).  The perq's were pretty cool: two free dinners, an elite athletes lunch, a meeting with a summary of the course and rules, a special area before the race with plenty of flush toilets, an escort to the starting line with warmup clothing pickup,.....  I loved it!  The weather ended up being nearly perfect for me, with a nice frost in the morning.  I got in a group with three other guys and we hammered out a nice steady pace.  I ended up with an over 16 minute PR.

NRR - I used to enjoy skiing, but after I got married it's just been too expensive.  I still like to follow the BoSox.

Bonus - late 70s, early 80s....probably just because that was when I was in college...  

I took a major cutback week last week. Flying across the country really did me in (well, flying east back home did, going out there was no biggie)....my BF asked Sunday "Aren't you running today?" and when I responded "I am supposed to, but I don't feel like it," I just got an eyebrow raise and confused look...not my typical behavior to miss a run. But I feel GREAT this week-I had an 11 mile run this morning with 7 @ 1/2 marathon pace and it was good, so I'm back in business. I did do some good running in Portland though, it is great for running. I also probably walked at least enough miles to equal the running miles I missed.

RR: Gosh, I don't know. Probably my 2009 run at the Rehoboth Marathon, more for the experience of going with a group of friends and running about 10 miles of the race with a running buddy (even though it was so cold there was snow/ice on the course-not quite normal for Delaware in November).

NRR: I'm a pretty big sports fan in general, but without any particular team that I am incredibly dedicated to. I like to watch: NCAA basketball, soccer, baseball, football, tennis....I don't care much for hockey or NASCAR or golf. I really enjoy big events like World Cup and the Olympics. I don't really participate in any other sports besides running but I'll play tennis or softball or whatever if a game starts up/someone wants to play.

Bonus: Can I pick the 00s?

Last couple of weeks have been pretty good. Not tearing it up in the mileage dept. but putting an emphasis on speed. I ran a 4:59 track mile a few weeks ago which was fun, intense and tough all rolled up into one short time span. I have another mile race this Sunday which will be held on an airstrip at a decommissioned air base. Should be very interesting with lots of divisions, quarter mile timing clocks and some major competition. Once this race is over I start back into marathon training and hopefully racking up some higher mileage and work away at my -288 mile deficit.

My choice for 'race I'll remember for the rest of my days' was Boston '09. I set an almost 3 minute PR at the time and ended up with the division win. The marathon gods gave me my day and I couldn't have been happier.

I used to ride bikes (road and mountain) quite a bit and still like to watch the TdF and mountain bike races. The DW and I are long time skiers but haven't gone much lately .. hopefully more this year.  We just saw Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte battle it out at an aquatic center close by which was great to see in person. And the winter and summer Olympics are super cool. Don't watch any football or baseball but will watch the Lakers in the post season ... does that count?

50's since I was born then and have some nice 50's furniture and other cool stuff. 

Cheers all!

First week of marathon training in the books. Still too hot.

Sun   11.43km  159 HRavg
Mon    11.46km  144
Tue    11.50km  154
Wed  15.01km  158 (longest run, 100* heat index)
Thu    9.35 km  139
Fri    12.29km  179 (12 x 400m w/400 jog between)

And we're off!
Heat index for every run in the 90s, except for the long run that broke 100. It kinda sucked, but when it is like this everyday, u really do get used to it mentally. Like that boiling frog in the steadily heated pot...

RR: Best race ever for me was last November's Taroko Gorge Marathon, my breakthrough race, though not a PR race. It occurred half way through my training cycle, and I "knew" at that point that I would finally break 4 hours in my December goal race. The race report is here, if you care to peek.

NRR: I am a baseball fan, first and foremost. NFL comes in second. If playing with my daughter counts as a sport, that's definitely one that I participate in every day.

Bonus: Definitely 60s. The decade of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy...Mark Twain got his start too. Ahhh, the 1860s. Such memories.

Had a great week this week.  Seemed like I had a bit of a breakthrough where my legs felt good everyday.  A 10 miler with 6 Yassos thrown in, a 12 mile midweek run and an 18 miler with the last 3 miles about :30 to a minute faster than marathon pace.  So, I'm pretty sure I'm going to run a marathon in three weeks.  It's a small race, Oktoberfest Spring Lake Marathon, that's close enough for me to sleep at home, drive to the race, run, and be back home in the afternoon.  I've never run this one before, nor run a race this small before.  Last year there were about 60 finishes, with only two in my AG.  Then Des Moines Marathon four weeks later. 

RR - The race I'll remember for a long time is Glass City Marathon in Toledo, 2005.  When I returned to running, I ran four marathons prior to Toledo; all in the 3:54-3:58 range.  I was getting discouraged that I wasn't improving, and went in to Toledo shooting for a sub-3:50.  I ran one of the few "smart" marathons that I've done and really held back at the beginning.  In the last six miles I passed tons of people and surprised myself with a 3:40.  A true breakthrough race at the time. 

NRR - I don't participate in any other sports.  I used to play in a golf league for years, but gave that up when I started running marathons.  I am a big hockey fan and fan of the Red Wings.  Also enjoy baseball, and one of my reading interests is baseball in the 40's and 50's.  I also coached AYSO soccer for ten years when my son played. 

Bonus - 70's.  That's when I "came of age".  A lot of 70's music brings back memories for me.

Have a great week, gang!

Hey guys! We 9th place alphas just beat the 2nd place etas in the head to head last week, and the difference was our perfect posting. Sweet.