MCM

We've been waiting with excitement John's MCM adventure. At least I know that Gordon and I, while battling a chilly morning long run, were keeping in our thoughts John, wishing him well in his marathon quest, hoping he will have great weather and no wind. And after the run, of course I found myself cheering and staring at the on line tracking, wishing that somehow I could communicate through telepathy my whisper of strength, power and endurance from the 35 K onward.

I hope John is very proud of his result. I think he should be, considering what he 's been through for the last 10 months. He never gave up, fought through injury, and quickly regained his coveted fitness. His journey is amazing, and he continues to inspire us every day and in every way. Truth to be told, I just could not slack off on my track workouts, knowing that John will be there at the crack of dawn, running 12x1 mile repeats precisely on pace, like a metronome.

Congrats and have a quick recovery! We will be waiting for details.

Good luck to everyone running Savannah next weekend.

Avondale 5K

So - if there's a race that starts 1/4 mile from your front door - there probably aren't too many excuses you can legitimately roll out for not doing it.  I noticed Gordon bagged 2nd in our age group here last year, the inaugural running of this race - so thought I'd open this year's road racing account (what d'you mean 2011 is almost over!?) with what I hoped would be my local fish-and-chipper*

YIKES! - I guess the quality of West Ashley running has increased - or else the fine Autumn weather prompted lots of talent to make the trip to the Avondale Triangle.  Cami was looking fit and fast.  Seekings was looking calm  - I didn't recognise anybody else - I thought I may be able to keep up with either Mike or Cami - and opted to start fast and see how long I could hang there.  With blood oxygen levels depleting as fast as the economic downturn of 2008, and lactic rising as quickly as the national unemployment rate; the front runners started passing through me from the 1 mile marker onwards like a dose of salts....

Despite my heaving lungs and panicking brain, the 2 mile marker came at less than 13 minutes - which surprised the $#!t out of me - so I decided to hang on, empty the tank and see how the finale panned out.  I barely beat some 12 year old into the finish chute, with Cami on the distant horizon and Seekings nowhere to be seen.  He would take 1st Masters in 18:sumthin  (fit b@5t@rd - isn't he supposed to be politicking or helping the city ?!) - Cami would take 3rd lady overall, a few seconds under 20mins.  Meredith Nelson took 1st Masters with a smidgin over 21 mins - I had to wait until the age group results to gauge success.

D@mn - despite bettering GN's time from last year by almost half a minute, my 20:29 was only good enough to get me third young40sumthin - still, at what other races can you score Mimosas, beer and breakfast biscuits at the finish line ?

Good Luck to John and the other Marine Corps contenders next weekend.  I'm helping with the Ecothon out at Capers tomorrow, so will not be able to join you at 7am. 

(* ed note - easy scottish race where you feature on podiums without much effort and no training due to small talent pool in out of the way places)

Autumn Weather

Autumn must be here. Gordon returns and we're getting our first taste of some good fall weather. It was great to welcome Jay and Josh to the group, as Michelle, Matt and I are putting the final touches on our marathon training.

What other upcoming races are folks training for? I need to update our list.

I'll be working the finish line at the Folly Beach Challenge this Saturday (not to late to sign up, if you're looking for something different). For our Sunday morning run, I'll be going a little shorter (8 miles). How about other folks?

Solid Performances

Let's hear it for Cami and Ann, both of whom traveled north, only to wind up racing under unseasonably hot conditions (seems they took our weather with them). Cami traveled to Boston to race in the Tufts 10K earlier today. The race started at noon. You wouldn't think that would be a problem in Boston in October. It was 85 degrees (two degrees shy of a record). With a time of 45:47, Cami wound up 140th in an event with over 6,400 participants (22nd out of 1,570 in her AG).

Ann also battled some heat in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. Chicago reached 80 degrees that day. Ann finished in the top 300 overall with a time of 3:21:20 (50th in her AG). Outstanding performances, especially considering the temps.

It is rare indeed when our Sunday run gets to enjoy cooler temps than Boston and Chicago. Can't wait to hear the war stories. Remember our runs are now starting at 7:00 a.m. Hope to see everyone on Sunday.

7:00 a.m.start time for this Sunday

It's that time of year again. Our start time is moving up to 7:00 a.m.

Oh what a difference a week makes. We were treated to wonderful, cool weather for our long run on Sunday. There was definitely more spring in the steps this week. For those of us prepping for long races this fall, the long mileage has gotten much more bearable. We'll see everyone out there again this Sunday.

Good luck to Cami racing at the Tufts 10K in Boston this coming Monday.

See everyone else at 7:00 a.m. this Sunday.