- First off, a big CONGRATULATIONS to the many, many local runners who ran the Pittsburgh and Flying Pig Marathons yesterday! Of particular note, an even bigger CONGRATS to my brother, Bill, for completing his first marathon at the Flying Pig! That is him on the left with his daughters at the finish. Not only did he finish it and finish it strong, but he ran the 2nd half only 28 SECONDS slower than the first half...a super job. His finishing time was 3hrs, 49min, 24sec. E-Speed, the 3:30 pacer was only seconds behind him. He didn't technically run with the pace group, but he could hear E-Speed speaking her motivation all marathon long! Thanks, E-Speed!
- My day to relax, recuperate, and perhaps take an afternoon nap yesterday was instead spent sunning myself while mowing the lawn, chopping sloppily at some rotting tree stumps, and filling bird feeders. While outside, Marjie was inside "installing" this bracket she got me about a year ago. Imagine this: a wrought-iron hanging plant holder x 5...attached to a bracket that allows them all to pivot. Her idea was to give me a place to display all of my marathon medals...23 of them to be exact. Downstairs in my "man corner" (you know, the area some men are kicked to in the basement with unfinished walls and a cement floor...a place for all our "stuff") is where she mounted it. It's pretty cool, I must admit. Talk about bringing up all kinds of memories all at once. I can see nearly all of them just by moving my head around a bit. I can remember every finish, some incredibly awesome experiences, some not-so awesome experiences, but all of them special to me. If you look close, some of you undoubtedly have some of these exact same medals for yourself. Recognize any?- Yesterday was also a day I was really missing the traditional road marathon. All of this 100-mile trail training has kept me from road marathons for a short time but like I've said in the past, nothing replaces the feeling of standing around at the start of a marathon and then crossing the finish line and having that medal draped around my neck. I was joking with Steve W. on Saturday that I've lost count of how many UNofficial marathons I run week in and week out during training. Nearly every weekend has had a run of 26.2 or longer in it lately and this past weekend, there were 2 back-to-back. I always shout "there's another marathon!" as my Garmin clicks by 26.20 miles during the training run. Still, it doesn't steal anything away from the experience of the road marathon. I can't wait to get back to collecting medals! (But first, I need to collect one Kettle from Peru and a buckle from the Burning River!)
- An inventory of myself physically from head to toe after Friday/Saturday's almost 12 hours on the trails reveals.....nothing! I have zero issues with my feet, anything muscular, overall energy levels, or anything else that would reveal a warning sign. Absolutely nothing to keep me from heading out on an 8-10 miler around home this morning! I am so thankful for both a very successful training weekend and it being the last back-to-back training weekend.
- 33 days until the Kettle. Enough, already...let's get this thing here and get it goin'! I'm ready.
- For all you marathoners who ran a marathon this weekend or recently, this video is for you. Perfect for the day after a marathon. Enjoy!
Have a great first week of May and Happy Trails, everyone!
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