South Shore Half Marathon Recap

Whoa, I'm falling behind in my race recaps!

On April 7, I ran in the South Shore Half Marathon, only my second organized half marathon race. My first was the Disney Half, during which I was saving my energy for the full marathon the next day. So, this was my opportunity to set a solid PR. I had run the Waukesha Trailbreaker Marathon the week before, but my quads were in great shape.

It was unseasonably cold. I bundled up properly (wool hat, mittens, tights, etc.) and didn't feel chilly during most of the race. The course was a simple out-and-back course, heading south first. I paced fairly well, making the turn with a chance at a 1:50:00 finish. However, the fierce winds out of the north and a bit of snow slowed me a bit in the second half. Still, I pushed through and managed a solid 1:51:22 in far-from-ideal conditions.

I don't know when I'll run my next half marathon, but if the conditions are better, I think there's a good chance I can improve my PR.

Coming soon: The story of my first ever age group award.

Waukesha Recap

About two weeks ago, I ran my eighth marathon. It was the second in two months, only four weeks after Little Rock. This race featured a 40-foot tower in the middle and about four miles of very rugged terrain. I'm thrilled to report that I survived, and the crushed-stone bike trail kept my quads from getting sore. I was out running the next day! Fun facts are below. You can see the impact of the rough trails in the middle, but I still managed to run my fourth fastest marathon ever.

Miles 1-5	9:14	9:14	8:41	9:14	9:38
Miles 6-10	9:20	10:12	9:34	9:59	9:38
Miles 11-15	9:35	9:44	11:34	14:07	9:46
Miles 16-20	10:00	9:13	8:24	8:41	10:05
Miles 21-25	8:55	9:13	9:14	10:09	9:47
Miles 26-End	9:13	2:21

• Average Pace: 9:44/mile
• First half: 2:07:07 Second half: 2:07:37
• Fastest Mile: #18 (8:24) Slowest Mile: #14 (14:07)
• Updated Marathon Graph - You can see the impact of the tower on the royal blue line of the Waukesha race.

Waukesha Trailbreaker Marathon!

I finished on Saturday with a chip time of 4:14:44. Details soon.

A Three-House Tour

Every Tuesday night, my wife and I meet with three other young couples for a variety of activities. We sing and study the Bible, but a majority of our time is spent basically "hanging out" and encouraging each other in the things we do.

We all live in the same city, though our houses are somewhat far apart. Since the weather was so nice on Sunday, I completed a run which went east to Mark & Heather's house, south to Jamie & Janet's house, west to Steve & Mary's house, and the north back to my house. The "Small Group Trifecta", or perhaps just "The Trifecta", is approximately nine miles long. The scenery wasn't always beautiful, but it was fun to drop a tiny note in each mailbox as I passed by. "Ben was here :)"

New Marathon PR!

Little Rock was a great race. I finished in 3:59:56 on the clock, and my chip time was 3:58:23. It was a bit cold at the start, but things warmed up nicely by the time I was done. It's time for the fun facts:

Miles 1-5	8:51	9:02	8:30	8:46	8:50
Miles 6-10	8:47	9:00	8:24	8:35	8:36
Miles 11-15	8:46	8:52	9:06	8:59	9:44
Miles 16-20	9:04	8:53	8:45	9:11	9:04
Miles 21-25	9:28	9:18	10:16	10:25	10:07
Miles 26-End	9:20	1:44

• Average Pace: 9:09/mile
• First half: 1:55:01 Second half: 2:03:22
• Fastest Mile: #8 (8:24) Slowest Mile: #24 (10:25)
• Race Results (Bib # 500)
• Professional Photos
• Here's a new graph with all seven marathons:

Green Light

All systems are go for the Little Rock Marathon! The weather will be a bit cool, but it should be fairly comfortable for long-distance running.

I won't be posting pace updates real-time, but you might want to check out the live finish line video between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Central Standard Time. My race number is #500 (how cool is that?), and I'll be wearing a bright green (tennis ball color) shirt and black shorts. Wish me luck! :)

And then there were six!

Just over two weeks until Little Rock. Here's an updated graph of all of my marathon experiences. Disney was the second slowest (it's the brown line on the bottom), but it may have been the most fun. :)

Cold Weather Training

It's official -- my next race will be the Little Rock Marathon on Sunday, March 4. I'm also tentatively planning to run 30K at the Racine Running Fest on April 28, as well as the 10-mile Lighthouse Run on June 16. We'll see what happens between now and then.

Last Sunday (January 28), I originally planned to run 20 miles, but I decided to go inside after 5 miles because I was worried about my hands getting frozen. I have a decent pair of gloves, but they weren't cutting it when I was running against the wind. I ended up spending 85 minutes on an elliptical trainer and ran five miles that evening when it was a *tiny* bit warmer.

To get me ready for my next cold weather run, I've purchased some super-warm mittens. However, I am not planning on running outside this weekend. Last Sunday, the wind chill was below zero. For the next two days, the temperature will be below zero. Running on a treadmill is not as fun, but for the time being, it's the most sensible option.

Disney Recap!

Without further ado, here is a link to a recap from my Disney races:

http://www.benandjenelle.com/disneymarathon

Enjoy the pictures! There's almost 200 of them.

Ready for Disney

Whoa, time flies! In about 31 hours, I'll begin my quest to run a half marathon and a full marathon in the same weekend. More details are at the "Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge" link at http://www.disneyworldmarathon.com. I am not planning on setting any personal records. I am just going to have a great time in the warm Florida sunshine. I might not even wear my GPS watch. :)

In any case, watch this space next week for details about the races. Until then!