I'm not racist. I don't even own running shoes.

Busy day of completing a few projects, running around town, and finally getting back to running. I did my 20th run at the weekly Four Green Fields running club 5K event that is held every Tuesday evening at 6 o'clock. This was a nice run in part because of the dolphins that were playing and feeding along the Bayshore Blvd seawall. Interspersed along the sidewalk are alcoves with staircases to enable people that 'fall in' a way to get out. Apparently one of the dolphins had chased a large fish onto the staircase that cornered itself on a shallow step in attempts to keep away. The dolphin could not quite beach itself enough to get the fish, so it kept going back and forth to try to force the fish to make a break for it, which it did. I didn't see the result of the chase one the dolphin took off after the sushi snack, but the process of solving the problem and rooting it out was pretty interesting.

If the mind were exercised as much as the mouth, we would be a race of geniuses.

Today I participated in the Great Urban Race. This was an urban adventure race that involves solving numerous clues with a partner, finding the particular locations, and then completing them all before making it back to the finish line. I got in a little early so I could scout out the are a bit for clues and get a general layout of the place. I grabbed breakfast at Centennial Park at the weekly market event and then picked up a trolley/bus pass before heading over the Gaspar's Grotto. I set up my netbook with the Wi-Fi so as soon as the clues could be opened we could research the answer and make a plan of attack. after solving what we needed to get started, I took a picture of some of the puzzles and riddles and e-mailed them to friends to aid in the research.

Our first stop was Centennial Park where we had to find the 'Immigrant Family' statue. It was much more crowded than just a few hours prior as there was some kind of event going on at the same time, so it was a bit chaotic weaving in and out of the crowd while dodging other racers as well. We weren't even the first to get there since people in the park seemed to be caught up with what was happening and simply pointed the way to anyone with a race bid. Next we had to head downtown. The streetcar was packed, so we figured the best thing would be to just hoof it to the next clue and take the streetcar back in the afternoon. There were three of the clues in a short distance with challenges. We had to do a team bike partnership, find a particular 'Earth Energy' sculpture to take a pic, and then complete a blindfolded beanbag toss in a game called 'cornhole'. After that it was across the Kennedy bridge, cutting through to Platt, and then on to Hyde Park where there were several challenges, surfboard riding, drop off a purchased water bottle, soccer challenge, and smoothie eating. From there it was a straight run back to the Convention Center and then take the excruciating slow streetcar back to Ybor and then on to the finish.

Overall our team came in 21nd out of over 300 teams, meaning we qualified for the national event later this year. My partner was more of a jogger than a runner, but put forth a great effort and picked up things when we needed. Overall we did a great job and had a lot of fun. After that was finished we headed to beer fest to meet up with some friends and enjoy a few hours of beer sampling. I headed over to Carrollwood for a friend's birthday party with a 'crazy hat' theme for more drink, food, and games before finally making it back after 2AM.

Sometimes it is not about finishing a marathon, it is about even starting.

I finished my first marathon today. This was another one of those things on my life list to accomplish at some point, and now after the fact I am glad I did it. I had a chip-time of just under 4:40 for the 2010 Walt Disney World marathon. I would like to say that it took a lot of preparation and planning, but truth be told I wasn't nearly as trained as I should have been. Though I run just about daily, I only do about 4.5 miles or so, which doesn't lead to a lot of long term endurance. For me, this run ended being just over twice my longest previous ever straight run. I made it to WDW on Saturday afternoon to get my race packet at the health expo and once that shut down for the evening ended up just staying in one of the remote parking areas nearby to car camp for the evening. I had my cold weather sleeping bag, plenty to drink, and a comfortable position. One thing I've loved about my Xterra truck is that a twin sized inflatable bed fits perfectly in the back. At 3AM I headed over to the EPCOT parking lot to drop off my bag for the end of the race and head over to the starting point for a 5:45AM race start. Although a bit chilly, the chemical heat packs I brought along really helped keep my hands toasty.

The first part was pretty easy. I wanted to maintain a 10 minute pace the whole course so I wouldn't over expend myself and had to keep myself from trying to maintain a normal 7:30 pace. It didn't take long before the first pieces of throw-down clothing came off, including a pair of very warm flannel bottoms (among an awesome set of 4 others I had at home) and were left behind. The first part of the course went under the Spaceship Earth ride at EPCOT and around the back area before heading of the long road towards the Magic Kingdom. At one point after just passing mile 2 I dropped my glove, only to realize it after a hundred feet and needed to run back to find it in the dark. I almost thought of leaving it since I was feeling warm, but am glad I did going back to search and retrieve it since towards the end winds had picked up, and as my energy level dropped I need it to keep my hands usable. I wasn't feeling any pain at all until right at mile 12.5 when my left knee decided to let itself be known for just a few minutes. It wasn't bad until right after it settled down the right knee starting to complain a bit, before easing off. Unfortunately they apparently started colluding and right at mile 14 they both decided to go on strike for the rest of the course. From that point on, even a 10-15 second stop to take a picture or make a quick pee break resulted in some pretty excruciating pain for the next 45 seconds after I started off again. I took advantage of every sport drink/water station as I wanted to keep well hydrated. I took a single Motrin every 5-6 miles along with an energy gel packet (which were pretty good and very easy to digest) and never really felt a wall in terms of plummeting energy. I was getting slightly punchy at one long road stretch and actually could not remember how long a marathon was, 24.2 or 26.2 and had to ask another runner. The most difficult stop by far was a 15 second bathroom stop at mile 20 after which the pain shooting through my knees lasted for a little over a full minute of running. Had I not been in the middle of nowhere with no shelter from the wind or any resources at hand, I'm not sure if I would have wanted to continue, but after things calmed down I resolved to not stop until it was all finished. There were a few nice banana, energy gel, and even a chocolate bar stations that surely helped keep the energy levels up. After starting the race I realized that I had forgotten my ear buds, so I didn't have any music for the entire course, which actually didn't end up being that bad. I had a lot upon which to reflect upon the previous year and was able to release a lot of pent up energy and emotion so I can hopefully make this a fresh year's start. The course continued through the Animal Kingdom, and though I knew I wouldn't because of their being too cold, I wish I had seen one of the old happy monkeys on trail, even if just a fleeting glimpse. We went past the Tree of Life and the Everest ride and on to Hollywood Studios. There the trail went by the Tower of Terror, though the backstage tour, and down the streets out the front entrance. The last bit seemed to be the longest as we shuffled along the Boardwalk and then into the rear of the World Showcase and loop the entire lake and past Spaceship Earth on last time and then on to the nearby finish line.

As I type this just a few hours after completion, I'm actually feeling pretty good. My knees are pretty stiff and when I stand it feels like Tonya Harding had clubbed me a few times. To pick things up I have to bend over like a giraffe with my legs spread in a wide stance. Except for a decently impressive blister the size of a gumdrop, I'm otherwise doing well. I don't see any evidence of losing a toe nail this time, yet, which from just personal observation of others makes me sure I don't want to go through such things. At mile 20 I was thinking that if Philippides had dropped dead at that point I would have been finished.

I'm contemplating doing the Gasparilla Marathon in a little over a month and seeing if I can greatly improve my time since I won't be taking pictures or updating Facebook during the run, maybe; but we'll see. It was nice to have spectators and general supporters out there yelling encouragement such as "You're looking good and doing great". Now I know they were lying since I must have looked like crap, but white lies are alright on occasion. I'm also going to have to trust the official chip time. I started my GPS a minute before going through the start line and then stopped it as soon as I crossed the finish line and I had a display time of 4:35, distance of 26.56, and average pace of 10:20.

When I finally got back into the car I was shocked at the crud on my face that made me look like I had been through an ice storm on a king crab fishing vessel. Apparently this was all just salt accumulated from the evaporated sweat. Seeing the amount of the stuff on my face made me glad that I forced myself to stay hydrated, even if it did necessitate a few painful stop/restarts. The run wasn't nearly the hardest thing I've endured in the past year or so, but it was at least somewhat satisfying for me to feel that I really can push myself hard and simply deal with the pain when necessary. Yeah, I needed that.

Here is the track as recorded by my GPS device. You can download the .gpx file and open it with Google Earth to see the entire course. Disney 2010 Marathon GPS Track

Even when you're running the world, you can't get off.

I decided to participate in the annual Turkey Trot in Clearwater as my Thanksgiving activity. I had some dinner plans for the afternoon in Sarasota, but wanted to get in a good run. This was my first 10K since the Midnight Run in Dunedin July 4th (it seems most of my big runs are on holidays sometimes). This run was just a few days coming off of the Florida Ragnar Relay race across the state, but I was able to do a somewhat decent time of 52:16.

Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe.

This weekend I joined members of the Brandon Running Association in a relay race across the state called the Florida Ragnar Relay Race. There were about 100 teams of 10-12 competing in a race from Tarpon springs to Daytona Beach. I had heard about the event in previous years through friends, but since I started taking running seriously in April, I wanted to start doing a few more events. Normally when I run alone, even in a race, it is easy to not push too much, but I found myself going forth as much as possible since I didn't want to let down anyone in the team. I got a personal record in terms of race times for each of my segments, essentially a 5K and two 10K portions. We had a very strong overall showing among our team member with only one realy injury casualty, Stacy. During an early morning part, she took a hard spill that scrapped up her knees and hands, but was still able to finish off strong. Overall, of 105 teams we came in 24th with a total time of 30 hours, 23 minutes, and 26 seconds for a distance covering 191 miles.

I had personal records for each of my legs, as recorded by my GPS.
Leg 1: ~5K (3.2 miles) 23:40
Leg 2: ~10K (6.6 miles) 52:45
Leg 3: ~10K (6.1 miles) 51:23

Before I left for Peru, my running coach asked me to put together a video for the team party using photos and videos taken by out members. I have put together a few small videos in the past, but this is the first one that is of any length, so I hope it comes out ok.

There is more to running one's life than finding the ON switch.

This morning, prior to getting read to head out for the shuttle launch, I participated in my 3rd official race, the second 5K in the 'Beat The Heat' series put on by Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation. On my first 5K, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of my final results since I hadn't been in a timeed race since high school. I had been hoping to just get under a 25 minute finish, but I ended up with a relatively decent 23:31.1. I've been doing a good bit more organized training and have been receiving a lot of advice and encouragement from my friends Tom and Veronica, so I was a little more prepared this go-around. It wasn't a drastic improvement or anything, but I was able to come in at a final measurement of 22:44, an improvement of only 47 seconds but at least a personal record.

Even when you're running the world, you can't get off.

After finishing some remodeling most of the day, I headed over to St. Pete to meet up with some friends at the monthly 'First Friday' event where a street is blocked off for some live music and other entertainment. I met up with everyone over at The Independent before hitting the street party. It didn't take long before we got hungry, so we hit a combo Thai/Chinese place for some noodle goodness and a few beers before joining the pack. It wasn't long before I had to take off in order to make it to the Dunedin Midnight 10K race.

In the way to Dunedin, I passed a local baseball field that had a pretty nice fireworks show just along Hwy 19 where I pulled over for a little while to gander at the display and take a few pictures before heading off to the race. This was my first 10K and a last minute decision, but with the running I've done lately, I wanted to push myself a little bit and see what I could do. Even at the 12:15AM start time it was pretty darn humid, but the course was pretty neat with much of it light up with roadside candles. I did enjoy the aspect of a night run and near silence, even with so many feet pounding pavement nearby. Around mile 4 I was questioning my thought process of doing such a long run when I had other plans for the weekend, but I eventually pushed myself to the end, even finding enough energy for a last quarter-mile sprint. I placed a disappointing 57:48 time with a 9:18 average pace, but at least it is a start, and technically a personal record (even if there was no prior record).