Wednesday, January 4, 2017

November and December in Review

I figure since I am on a blogging roll today I will knock out my November and December in Review in one post!  It's not going to be very hard to accomplish this since I didn't run or walk a single step in the month of December. 


November 2016
**Very limited running this month as I was sidelined with a major chest cold.**
19.35 running miles
.06  walking miles
19.41 total miles
One of my three whole runs in November (13 of my 19 miles happened this day)


December 2016
**I really have no excuse for this mileage (or lack thereof).  I was plain lazy and then I ended up with yet another chest cold**
0 running miles
0 walking miles
0 total miles























Current 2016 Stats
 574.36 running miles
 34.84 walking miles
 609.2 total miles
Clearly I needed to put just a little more into it in 2016


In the end my running in 2016 was a far cry from what it has been in past years but sometimes you just need to give yourself (and your body for that matter) a break.  I have gotten in one run so far for 2017 so I am at least moving in the right direction.  I don't have any goals/mission for 2017 at the moment but I will be thinking about what I want to improve upon in regards to my mind, body, and soul.


Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me.



Marshall University Half Marathon Race Report


Yes this half marathon was the first weekend in November and I am just now getting around to blogging about it.  I really need to do better!!

Friday
Nikki and I took to the car to head to Columbus for the night as Deb was flying into the Columbus airport from Chicago and we were her ride to the Columbus hotel as we decided to stay near the airport Friday night and then head to West Virginia on Saturday morning.  As Deb's flight wasn't due in until after 10:00 PM Nikki and I met up with our friend, Dave, at California Pizza Kitchen for some dinner and ice cream.  We did a little "window" shopping at the mall that we ate at and then headed to our hotel to check in and wait for Deb's arrival.  After we grabbed Deb from the airport we spent some time catching up and then it was time to grab some shut eye.


Saturday
We grabbed a quick continental breakfast at our hotel in Columbus and then got everything packed up and got on the road to West Virginia.  The drive was very pleasant and quite uneventful.  We stopped for a late lunch and then went straight to the race expo to grab our things for race day.  It was a very small expo but we didn't mind as we weren't really looking for anything in particular for race day.  Nikki did buy a jacket as the weather forecast had changed.

Nikki, Deb and I at the expo
Once we had finished at the expo we headed to check into our hotel which was about 30 minutes away from the race start.  We were able to secure a late check out and just relax for awhile before we headed out for some dinner at The Wine Valley.  After finishing dinner, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night relatively early.

The Wine Valley

Our wine samplings

Sunday
We were up bright and early for our 30 minute drive to the race start.  It was quite chilly but we knew it was supposed to warm up relatively quickly so we were quite happy about that.  While waiting for the race to start we were very cold though so we were wishing the race would have started sooner rather than later.
Trying to stay warm at the start line

The course was very nice and relatively flat.  I especially enjoyed running past the water. It was a very nice view.  Considering I was coming off my slowest marathon ever, my only goal for this race was to try and run an even pace for all 13 miles.  I am happy to say that I came pretty close to achieving that goal.
Miles 1-6:  9:43, 9:33, 9:33, 9:28, 9:37, 9:23
Miles 7-13.24:  9:26, 9:23, 9:32, 9:32, 9:16, 9:44, 9:53 and 2:04(8:46 pace) for the final .24
The finish line

Nikki's finish

Nikki waiting for Deb to finish

Deb's finish


After all three of us crossed the finish line we headed back to our hotel to clean up and get ready to head back home.  We stopped and had lunch at Fat Patty's before getting back on the road to drop Deb off in Columbus for her return flight home.
Nothing like a burger and a beer after a half marathon

We returned Deb to the airport much earlier than her scheduled flight so she tried to get her flight changed to arrive home early but that didn't work out for her.  Instead, she ended up getting a nice chair massage while she waited for her flight.  Nikki and I headed back to Cleveland and declared it a successful weekend.



Complete a half in all 50 states status: 18 states and D.C. completed


Completed states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.


Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!