LVRR Summer Series 5K
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 » 7 Comments
I picked up another 5K win tonight, less than three weeks after the last one. For a guy who's only won three races his entire life, that's a nice little streak. I wasn't particularly fast tonight, just lucky enough that nobody faster was out there. I'm happy with my 17:58 – we were running on The Parkway, a gravel trail with a few hills; and it was warm and humid – but normally that time wouldn't have been good enough for the win at the LVRR Summer Series. Tonight, though, it was. I'll take it.
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Big Sur International Marathon
Monday, April 30th, 2012 » 8 Comments
Yesterday morning, I found myself sitting in a porta potty placed on top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, violently evacuating my bowels while being serenaded by the music of a grand piano. I was thirteen miles into the Big Sur International Marathon and thought to myself, wow, this is a moment I'm going to remember for a while.
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Robert Lasso Memorial 5K
Saturday, April 21st, 2012 » 6 Comments
Normally I'm not a big fan of 5K's – they hurt too much – but for some reason, this one sounded fun when Jim mentioned it midweek. So, I woke up early this morning and drove out to Bethlehem to run the Robert Lasso Memorial 5K Run. Turns out that it was worth the trip – I won the race! There were almost 250 runners out there, so it was a fairly legit small town win. And, I got dinner for two at a local steakhouse, up to $150, out of the deal too. Not bad for less than eighteen minutes worth of effort.
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Moved
Friday, April 20th, 2012 » 4 Comments
Gansett Marathon
Saturday, April 14th, 2012 » 10 Comments
"You look really strong still. They're falling apart up there, you can pick a bunch of them off!" This came from a bicyclist riding towards me somewhere in the 18th mile. I waved a thank you, processed what he said, and unconsciously sped up. I felt a tingle, like some primal switch had been turned on in my head, and I was ready to go chase down my prey. It hit me, this moment right here, this feeling, is why I love the marathon.
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Monument Avenue 10K
Monday, April 2nd, 2012 » 4 Comments
Just a couple weeks after my trip to Virginia Beach for the marathon, I was back in Virginia, this time Richmond, and this time for a 10K. The other big difference was that this was a "business trip" instead of a vacation. Talk about a perk of the job! I got to drive down to Richmond, hang out with my coworkers, eat great food, drink a couple beers, go for an easy shakeout run with a bunch of friendly readers, and then race a 10K… and that's a business trip?! I'm a lucky guy.
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Shamrock Marathon
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 » 2 Comments
Marathons are always unpredictable. I think that's why I enjoy them so much. I like the mystery, the suspense of not knowing how it's all going to turn out. Sometimes, you get cocky and think that you've figured out the distance, that you know what's going to happen. And, it's at exactly those times that the 26.2 miles slaps you back and puts you in your place. Sunday was one of those experiences for me.
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Coogan's 5K, 2012 Edition
Sunday, March 4th, 2012 » 14 Comments
It seems hard to believe that this was already my fourth running of the Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K. How has that much time gone past already? I looked back over old race reports and running logs today and found that I've been remarkably consistent at this race, never faster than 18 minutes and never slower than 19. 2009 was 18:59, the first time I ever broke twenty minutes in a 5K. 2010 was 18:36, my first sub-6:00 mile race over two miles. And then, 2011 was a disappointing 18:08. This year I only ran three seconds faster, 18:05, but I was much happier with the time, being knee-deep in marathon training and not focused on short speed.
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