Race Report - Holiday Run @ Sharon Woods

The racing weather gods were smiling on us yesterday at the Holiday Run. There was a winter weather advisory posted for Saturday night for freezing rain and possibly .2 inches of ice. Not a good scenario for the race. But thankfully, I awoke Sunday morning to some drizzle and temps in the low 30’s.

The 4 mile path around Sharon Woods Metro Park was paved and cleared of snow for the race. Over 430 people showed up for the race. All in all, it went pretty well. I was able to complete the race in 1:03:46. My average pace was 15:56 minutes/mile. Here are my splits for the miles: (1) 16:16, (2) 17:01, (3) 16:03 and (4) 15:02. I came in 423^rd out of 438 participants.

Here is a link to photos from the race and will be available until 1/31/08.

December 5, 2007 - Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I woke up this morning to find that Central Ohio did get the snow that the weather forecasters were calling for. The ground was blanketed in white. We got about a total of 3-4 inches of snow overnight and into the morning. It really made a mess of the morning commute. Took me one hour to get to work - normally a 20 minute trip. Thanks, Columbus "Snow Warriors" (insert sarcasm)!!??!!

At first, I decided to forgo the lunch walk in the park. Then I decided to go ahead and walk but not at the usual brisk pace. Good decision on my part. It was awesome to walk while the snow was falling. It really was peaceful. The snow muffled most of the sounds around me. I had the park to myself. I guess that no one wanted to be out when it was about 28 degrees with a wind chill of about 19. I did have to watch my step - especially on the wooden boardwalks. Only slipped a little once.

I would highly recommend walking in a winter wonderland if you get the chance!

Training Log - December 4, 2007

I think that today's weather is more like what December should be like. It was cloudy and cold. Tonight we are to get our first snow accumulation of the winter. Forecast is for 1-3 inches tonight and another 1-2 inches tomorrow.

Went to Creekside today to walk. Forgot my windbreaker. Not good. The temperature was about 31 degrees but the wind chill was in the 2o's. Ended up walking with my winter coat on. Just too cold to go without it. Walked 2 miles today. Time was around 36 minutes. Nothing too special to report. Will remember the windbreaker tomorrow and also some ear covering.

As a note, I have added a few of the pictures that I took during the Columbus Half Marathon in October to the other pics from the race. I have decided that I will be doing the full marathon this fall.

2007 Ironman World Championships - Some thoughts

I forgot to post a reminder that the 2007 Ironman World Championships were shown on NBC this weekend. If you didn't get a chance to watch it and it is shown again some time, I would highly recommend checking it out. Even if you aren't into triathlons - you will be touched by the stories of ordinary people that have overcome or are in the process of overcoming various challenges in their lives. I have yet been able to watch one without tears rolling down my face. Their stories are an inspiration to me and countless others.

This year was unusual in that many of the ranked professionals dropped out of the race. Last year's winners: Norman Stadler and Michellie Jones both left during the 112 mile bike portion due to medical issues. 2005 men's champion, Faris Al-Sultan did not even start the race due to a stomach flu. Natascha Badmann wrecked her bike into a traffic cone and fractured her collar bone. This left the field open for anyone to claim the prize.

As interesting as these events were, I found the stories from the non-professionals or "age groupers" more riveting. Stories like the 65 year old woman in her first Ironman as a competitor. She has volunteered in previous years. Or the legally blind gentleman who also was taking on Kona for the first time.

The story that hit me closest to home was the story that was not told in the broadcast. It was of Murray Frank of Canada. He was bib # 644. I saw him get out of the water and knew that he was the one racer that I was going to be rooting for. He was mentioned at the end of the program and they showed him crossing the finish line - becoming an Ironman. I checked his info and he finished with a time of 16:44:08. He was 161/162 in the 45-49 year old men. He was the 1677th finisher of the 1685. He weighs in at 285 pounds.

He is my role model - if he can do it then so can I and so will I.