Running a lot lately

Bad news – I have been way too busy to put anything new up here on my blog. Good news – I have been doing a lot of running and also putting time into home projects. Eight days ago I ran the Akron Roadrunner Marathon. Five days ago I ran a six mile trail race. Today I ran the Tow Path Marathon. Akron Roadrunner Marathon – 26.2 consistent miles. I ran 23.2 miles no faster than 7:35 and no slower than 7:50. I ran three of the up hill miles between 8 and 8:15. Oh, I’m not counting a 90 second potty break I took at mile 17. My goal – I would be thrilled with anything under 3:30. I expected slower as I was NOT focused on this as a race. The race fits into my JFK50 training plan. For those who don’t know, JFK is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving. About a month ago, I decided that back-to-back marathons would be good training for a 50-mile race. Anyway, I was impressed with the Akron Roadrunner Marathon organization and the attention to every little detail that the race organizers put out. I will try not to miss this race in the future. My finish time was 3:26. CVNPA Fall Running Series -Oct 2 2007 Station Bridge – Six mile trail race. I heard about these races last year and put them in my calendar for this year. Guy Gadomski organizes these “fun” races. They remain a secret until the evening of the race. This past Tuesday, Guy assigned each runner to one of three teams. Then he informed us that there would be three race distances. Thunder – 3 mile; wind – 4.5 mile; and lightning – 6 mile. Every one started at the same time and made the decision on which distance to run during the race. At two turnaround points there were posted a bunch of tags. Runners just picked a tag and ran back to the finish line. The six mile option also had a place for picking a tag. I did six miles in 43 and ½ minutes. It was hilly. I finished second in my age group and 4th in the six mile race. Towpath Marathon – This morning. It was HOT. I ran slowly the first 4 miles – each a little over 8. Then 14 miles of about 7:45. Then the heat got to me and I struggled to keep under 9:30 for the last 7 miles. I felt bad that I was running so slow, but hey – I was passing other runners. Just a few passed me, and some of those I caught in the last 2 miles. My goal was to run consistent with last weeks Akron Roadrunner Marathon. I was 11 minutes slower with a 3:37. All 11 minutes were in the last 7 miles. This was HARD. The winning time was 2:59. Yikes, every one had slow times.