Make-Up Exam

Cami got an A+ on her make-up exam today. She got 1st Place Masters (8th top female, and 39th overall). Click here for results. This was in a field that included Joan Benoit-Samuelson! Way to go!

Our long run this morning was treated to nice weather. It was almost 60 degrees by the time we were done. It was also nice to see so many of our fellow runners out and about. Here's hoping that we have more Sundays like today in the near future.

Good Luck to Cami

Good luck to Cami, racing in the Run with Donna Half Marathon this Sunday. Unlike Myrtle Beach, it appears that the weather will be fully cooperating for great race conditions. Jacksonville is supposed to be in the low 40's at race start; partly cloudy with no wind. (we'll be checking those results).

For our Sunday long run, the weather should be equally accommodating. It will be nice to have a run that begins above freezing. With a month to go before Georgia, I've got a 22 miler on my calendar. What about other folks? What's on your schedule?

Damage Control

...So nobody could run Myrtle Beach, and all the work of 6000 people was wasted and for what? For 3 inches of snow and a hasty decision of the Myrtle Beach city officials.

To vent some of my frustration, I have decided to run a "hilly" 18 miler, so I went for it. You have got to imagine that I had all this bottled up adrenaline; in addition, I haven't run much this past week in preparation for the half-marathon, so I was antsy and eager to go. I did the first part of the bridge with John (I thank him for that), and we split thereafter. I went over the bridge 6 times, all between miles 4-18.7 @8:01 pace. It felt so damn good; I ended up running 19 miles total. Then I walked about a mile and called one of my supportive friends (thanks, Raluca) to come and pick me up.

I can finally focus on the Jacksonville half next weekend, and put everything else on the back burner. I know this will be a race that will not get canceled.

Many thanks to my running buddies for their support: John, Gordon, Trevor, Anne.

Canceled?!

The City of Myrtle Beach issued a public statement canceling the Myrtle Beach Marathon (click here). There is no mention on the marathon website (that I can find) of a reschedule date or time. I'm surprised that they couldn't negotiate a delayed start since the high will be close to 40.

There's another big shoe that needs to drop here: refunds. Keep in mind that the entry waiver states that they are in no way obligated to issue refunds for any reason (even cancellation), but they realize that this will create bad P.R. I can't imagine that they have the funds to issue refunds (most of it would have gone to t-shirts and venue and vendor deposits which are probably non-refundable) unless they purchased event insurance that covers a weather cancellation. If they choose to transfer everyone's entry to next year, they will still have a cash flow problem, as that will limit next year's income. Yikes.

My condolences to our buddies who trained so hard and made the trip only to be turned away at the last minute. This really stinks.

More Proof

Here's an interesting article (click here) that my brother forwarded to me. It talks about how running keeps your cells young. Exercise research continues to confirm what runners already know.

Good Luck to our Myrtle Beach runners. Bad news: the temps at start time are predicted to be in the thirties (there's even a slight chance of snow Friday night). Good news: the conditions will be clearing with little wind. Things are bound to be better than Charlie Post and Save the Light. Let's hope this equates to some fast times.

Save the Light - Part 2

Let's hear it for the West Ashley Running crowd representin' at STL. Gordon and I both won our age groups. Sure it was wet. Sure it was windy. But it wasn't too wet or too windy. We also got a lot of great support from the Tuesday night track crowd who were there to cheer us on. A good day all around.

I've got 18 on my schedule for tomorrow morning (along with Cami). See ya'll then.

Save the Light

You know what I'm talking about. We've all been there. Not our fastest race but one with plenty of surprises. After running through the 5th steeplechase obstacle (water) my toes were a little cold but honestly I was just happy to be out there. The last mile and half was tough going into the wind but there were plenty of bagels and bananas at the end. John said we were going to wet - he was right but no one could complain after last weekend! I think John had a good day all and all. Will try to make it tomorrow. I had to take off after the race eh... for two hours of ice skating!