First, I can't believe it has been almost two weeks since my last entry. I think I will try to write shorter entries rather than none at all.
Second Today was a day in transit for me and a day to think a lot about running that I am doing and running that I have not done. Both are important.
Running that I did not do-I did not participate in the Baltimore Running Festival this year. As my three kids pile more and more on Saturday activities (particularly with how early ice hockey can be), I'll probably have to choose one--or at most two--weekends in the fall to participate in races. At least after September. The past three years I had taken part in the Baltimore running festival. This year I did not. And this year was the most perfect weather of them all with lots of people I know getting either their fastest times ever in general or at the very least their fastest times at the Baltimore Running Festival. Definitely makes me think about making this one of my fall Saturdays for "not just very early morning running" next year.
In terms of running that I am doing, I am doing a lot of very early morning running on Saturdays at this point. We have reached a point in the year where trail running at 6 AM is downright dangerous. So, my main running partner and I have taken to running urban/suburban street courses. What is interesting and what demonstrates just how blessed I have been through all my hard work is how much my running has changed in two years. A little over two years ago, I ran the Philadelphia ING Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in September and was on a flight so South Africa later that day. That was the beginning of a very difficult month long period of final preparation for the Baltimore Marathon 2010 as my legs completely tightened up after what was an all out effort. I later promised a friend who is a much more senior runner that I would not race so far and fly such long distances again. There is a risk of embolism in an airplane. The risk goes up after running.
Here I sit two years later, and I went out and ran just under 12 miles with my best matched running partner and we ran at a pace on average faster than the pace I raced at two years ago. Today, my legs are a little stiff after 17+ hours on a plane but it just from the plane ride. Not from the run.
I am blessed to be able to improve what I do, to have good friends to improve with, and to set an example of what hard work can do for my boys. Interestingly, I think all thee already get it, but it doesn't hurt to continue to show them.
Second Today was a day in transit for me and a day to think a lot about running that I am doing and running that I have not done. Both are important.
Running that I did not do-I did not participate in the Baltimore Running Festival this year. As my three kids pile more and more on Saturday activities (particularly with how early ice hockey can be), I'll probably have to choose one--or at most two--weekends in the fall to participate in races. At least after September. The past three years I had taken part in the Baltimore running festival. This year I did not. And this year was the most perfect weather of them all with lots of people I know getting either their fastest times ever in general or at the very least their fastest times at the Baltimore Running Festival. Definitely makes me think about making this one of my fall Saturdays for "not just very early morning running" next year.
In terms of running that I am doing, I am doing a lot of very early morning running on Saturdays at this point. We have reached a point in the year where trail running at 6 AM is downright dangerous. So, my main running partner and I have taken to running urban/suburban street courses. What is interesting and what demonstrates just how blessed I have been through all my hard work is how much my running has changed in two years. A little over two years ago, I ran the Philadelphia ING Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in September and was on a flight so South Africa later that day. That was the beginning of a very difficult month long period of final preparation for the Baltimore Marathon 2010 as my legs completely tightened up after what was an all out effort. I later promised a friend who is a much more senior runner that I would not race so far and fly such long distances again. There is a risk of embolism in an airplane. The risk goes up after running.
Here I sit two years later, and I went out and ran just under 12 miles with my best matched running partner and we ran at a pace on average faster than the pace I raced at two years ago. Today, my legs are a little stiff after 17+ hours on a plane but it just from the plane ride. Not from the run.
I am blessed to be able to improve what I do, to have good friends to improve with, and to set an example of what hard work can do for my boys. Interestingly, I think all thee already get it, but it doesn't hurt to continue to show them.
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