It is still winter

Hard as it may seem to believe it is still winter - April 17th and we did not get out of the 30's. It rained all day, and was dreary. It has made running outside nearly impossible. It does look like a warming trend is just around the corner, we are supposed to start to see the 60's this weekend. Our fingers are crossed.

The news from yesterday was tragic - 33 students and teachers were killed at Virginia Tech University by a troubled student. Having two girls in college brings this tragedy a little closer to home. There are no words to express the sorrow for the families of these students.

I still need to update from the Atlanta half, will probably get to it this weekend. This weeks running is starting to feel pretty good. My hamstring and back seem to be getting well stretched and my focus is slowly coming back. I am amazed at the mental side of running, one would not think that it requires patience, it does.

Will get on over the weekend and hopefully get caught up.
Later

A little late - Race Day in Austin

OK, I know that I am behind in this post, I did however want to finish it up. I was attempting to provide a daily sanpshot of the events for my half-marathon in Austin. The day of the race was pretty exciting. Linda and I had to get up really early, the race started at 7am and they wanted us to start getting to the starting area around 6am. I always find that coffee is the best thing to start the morning with on race day and today was no exception. We then started our way to the starting point, the good news was that our hotel was only about 1/2 mile walk so we did not have to deal with transportation issues. There was however a bigger issue, it was really pretty cold - probably around 35. I was not quite sure how to dress knowing that it would warm up when the sun started to rise. I decided to keep my shorts on which would turn out to be the wrong decision. The starting line was on the Congress Ave. bridge, there were thousands of people in the starting zone, there were hundreds of restrooms and the lines were really long. It was still dark, but the background of the city lights helped - it was pretty energized. We met some really nice folks while we were waiting, a father /son team, a couple of kids from one of the nearby military bases and some kids from UT. I find it really neat to just talk with folks prior to a race. Linda decided to go back to the hotel, while I got in line for the race. We all gathered on the bridge, they played the National Anthem and at some point the starting gun sounded, not before a really nice fireworks display. It took me about 8 or 9 minutes to get to the starting line, but we were off. It was really cold and my thighs were frozen and they never warmed up (thus the result of the shorts decision) It was a pretty tough race, there were lots of hills after mile 7 and they seemed to never end. I ended up walking up a couple of the longer ones at the end. The last big hill ended up on the back side of the capital. We rounded the capital and then we were on Congress street. You could see the end and it was pretty flat to get there. All I can remember was being focused on the end. Linda said she was yelling at me, I did not see nor hear her, but I was glad she was there. Getting to the end was really cool, I was really tired and having a little trouble breathing, but I knew I had finished something that I really worked hard for and I was elated. I went to the area where runners gather after race to get some food. I sat with a fellow and just rested and talked. I caught up with Linda right outside that area and we went back to the hotel so I could get cleaned up. We spent the rest of the day with my sister and her son visiting some of the local pubs in Austin, eating and just relaxing. The race went on for several more hours. I went back to watch other runners come in. It is so neat to see each one of them finish, you know that they all have a story as to how they got there. You also know that something drove them to train and put themselves out there.
Running is an individual sport, you simply go out to be faster or longer then you were before. You train for weeks with a goal in mind and then you execute against that goal. We had a great time in Austin, and I am planning on going back next year for the race - I hope to have a better time and maybe, just maybe I might be running the full marathon at that time.
At the time I am writing this, I have also completed the Atlanta Half Marathon which I will provide more detail on in my next entry. I hope to get caught up soon because I have to start training again, not sure for what yet, but I have to start again. Later

Its Easter

Hard to believe that I have not posted in over a month - lots has been happening over that time. I did run another half marathon in Atlanta which I will write a separate post on. For today, I just wanted to get the juices flowing again. It has been a busy month between vacations, travel for work, and getting the girls home for Easter. It seems like a whirlwind time period. It is time to settle in a bit, keep the travel in check and rest up. More importantly, it is time to get back on some running and eating routine that will result in getting back to a lower weight and get my speed back up to a reasonable pace. I am going to spend the next week getting prepared for a training program - the question that I need to answer at this point is if I am going to take on the training schedule for a marathon - it is a big commitment of time, but it also requires that I lose 30 pounds. There is no way that I can carry this weight for that amount of time safely. It would help if our weather would get a little better. Right now it is cold and snowy. We had a inch of snow on the ground this morning - its Easter for goodness sake.

Oh well, I am sure that the decision will be made over the next few days on the marathon - regardless, I am going to run another half marathon somewhere this year - I want to shoot for a better time than my other two. The girls want to train for the Rochester Half, which would be great, but we are looking at being in South Carolina at that time. It will all work out.

This Easter was pretty good - the girls came home and we were able to get to the early service - we missed having the sunrise service this year - they held it inside due to the snow. I do not feel as though I was able to spend any real quiet time this year to reflect on the true reason for Easter.

Well, we are driving down the thruway right now, just dropped one of the girls off at school in Syracuse - thought it would be a good time to start to write again. I will make sure that I get caught up this week.

Later