Out of the Race

Well, I was looking forward to running the Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K tomorrow and was ready to break 50 minutes along with a friend. Then, Sunday night I started getting a cold and running a low-grade fever. Surely, the fever will go away by Wednesday or so and I can run. -- I kept telling myself. Thursday, I was still having a bit of fever so I went to the doctor. He says, Just a cold and the fever isn't unusual. But, his very strong advice is not to run. Today, Friday, I agree. Still coughing, still have and off-and-on fever. Bummer! We'll help our daughter move, but no running. After 5 straight days without a run, I am so ready. Maybe in another couple of days.

Today, I collected my t-shirt and other gear -- hey, I paid the fee -- and it was sad. Another day.

Good luck to all who do run.

Bob

4,000 Miles!

Reached a milestone this past week. I wasn't paying attention but realized today, while filling out my running log, that I had passed 4,000 miles of running since July 2003. It happened on Thursday. Whew! That's a lot of miles.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

Prep Run #2 for Richmond 10K

Ran the second prep run for the Richmond 10K next week. We were slow today. My friend had been fighting a cold all week and was still not feeling great. I had run 7.3 miles yesterday and my legs were tired. Still, with all those factors, we did fine.

This was my second run in a new pair of shoes -- Brook GTS7 with MoGo. The reviews for the GTS7 have been really good, talking about how cushioned they are, etc. I would disagree. I've run in a pair of GTS5, two GTS6, a pair of ASR (based on the GTS4), and now the GTS7. The ASR are the hardest (i.e., least cushioned) but kept my feet warmer on cold days, the GTS5 were the longest lasting (we'll see about the GTS7), and the GTS6/7 had the best cushioning (still not great).


Still, I like the Etonics Jepara SC shoes that I've just quit using -- they're more cushioned than any of the Brooks, they've lasted longer than any running shoes I've had in the last 4 years (613 miles), and they have a wider toebox (I could wear a regular width and didn't have to buy 2E). So, I think I'll wear the GTS7 until they wear out (until early to mid-July) and then go back to the Etonics.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

The Real Saint Patrick

I'm not a Catholic but there is a tiny trace of Irish blood in my veins. And, yes, I did wear green today, though not while I was running. Someone clued me in on this article and I found it interesting to read the real story behind the man:

The St. Patrick You Never Knew

Run well, y'all,
Bob

PS -- Earlier today, I ran with a friend at a slightly slower pace than I normally run. Maybe it was the luck of the Irish (I don't put any stock at all in luck), but I felt like I could have run a lot longer.

Prep Run #1 for Richmond 10K

I do like running with someone else -- not all the time, mind you, but more often than I get to do. A friend and I are running the Richmond 10K together in 2 weeks. We hadn't run together before, so we decided to run a 10K+/- this morning just to see how it went. It was chilly, but I actually like that except for the fact that I don' t talk very well when my face has been exposed to 32° for several minutes -- that made communication a little tricky. You know, lots of What did you say?

We did 6.5 miles at a pace of 8.015 mpm. If gMap-Pedometer gave me a good read on the distance, we'll make our goal for the 10K of sub-50 minutes -- a PB for my friend and a PB-baseline for me (since I've never run a 10K race before, 2 hours would, technically, be a PB for me). Hey, we won't be the fastest on Monument Avenue that day, but for a couple of 50+ year olds, we'll do all right.

If you're running that race, we'll see you there.

Bob
Richmond, VA

Longest Run to Date -- Lots of Time to Think

11.938 miles -- I am tired! This is the longest I've ever run. The first 6 miles took 46:54 and the last 5.9 took 47:31 so I maintained a fairly consistent pace throughout -- averaged 7:54 mpm. I don't watch my watch while I run so I was really surprised at my pace. If someone had asked, I would have guessed about 8:15 mpm because it felt slow.

My mental song for this run was You Are God Alone. As I ran, the passage from Romans 7:14-25 where Paul talks about his own inability to follow the law kept rolling around in my mind -- I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me ... Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom 7:15-18a, 24b-25a). No matter what others see from the outside, I know that my inner self is fighting this same war. There is no reason, within me, for God to use me. But He does! He grants me righteousness, justifies me, and redeems me:

Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:20-24)

My prayer for myself is that the righteousness that has been declared for me would become reality in my thoughts and attitudes and actions and words.

Pretty weighty for a run -- but, 12 miles gives one a long time to think.

Run well, y'all,
Bob

High Altitude, Again

Just returned from a 2-week trip to Kenya. Didn't run as much as I would have liked but did get in 6 days -- 3 in Nairobi and 3 in Tigoni. Man, the Tigoni was hard!! 7,500 feet above sea level is pretty thin air. But, the last day, I ran 4.3 miles at 8:10 mpm but the hills made for sore hips. It was absolutely perfect weather -- about 55°, no wind, no rain, no dogs.

Tonight, I became 1 of about 22,000 to sign up for the Richmond Monument Ave 10K at the end of March. This will be only my 2nd race since high school. A friend wants to break 50 minutes, so we'll run together. Should be fun if we don't get trampled by the crowds -- last year, the Monument Ave 10K was the largest 10K in the US.

Run well, y'all,
Bob