Saturday, October 31, 2009

Piney Creek Neighborhood - 5

Ran through the neighborhood on Saturday, Halloween. The sun came out and it warmed up so a lot of melting going on, on the sunny sidewalks and most of the streets it was clear by 2:00. So I did a late run. Took the dogs (Levi and Lucy) for a 2 mile loop. Then dropped off Levi (he was dragging) and took Lucy for another 3 miles. Went down to the Creek and checked out the path, it was thawing but very wet.

Lucy and I ran back through the neighborhoods, lots of people getting ready for halloween, decorating, going to parties, arriving at parties. Fun. Lucy loves to run, I'd like to take her on some longer runs and see how she does.

The sidewalks are wet, there are going to be a lot of wet kids in costumes tonight.

Garmin Watch Data

5 Miles 45 Minutes

Friday, October 30, 2009

Confluence Park - 6

Ran a 6 mile loop from the Y to the Cherry Creek path at Colfax, down to Confluence Park, then over past Eliches, to Mile High Bridge and back along the other side of the Platte to the Path. Different route from our usual group routes and not the duck pond which is the Friday usual.

Ran with Alicia and Matt. We chose that route because all the snow on the side streets and sidewalks and parks. I noticed the bike path was clear/plowed when I drove into work this morning.

Matt signed up for the Tuscon Marathon December 13th, so I was talking to him about his training schedule and goals. Only 6 weeks away, 2 long runs and a shorter taper.

It cloudy in the upper 30's when we started running, but the sun came out and it warmed up quick. I was comfortable in a short sleeve shirt and shorts (taking off my gloves and long sleeve shirt during the run).

6 Miles 50 Minutes.

Garmin Watch Data for Run

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Snow Days

2 days of snow in Denver. No run or workout. Worked from home.
Only workout was shoveling the drive about 3 times now.
Got about 2 feet at the house.

Getting Cabin Fever, hope it clears up and melts enough to get some decent weekend runs in.


Here's a picture of this year's Halloween Costume from Last weeks party.
Greg, Lisa (Rosy the dog), Braveheart (me) and Zach (lost his mustache).
Greg was Cesar (Dog Whisperer) and really has a broken ankle, not part of the costume.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Cherry Creek Bike Path - 6

Ran the Cherry Creek Bike Path today with the group. Nice day but a storm is on the way, cloudy no sun.



Tom, Pete, Craig C, Alicia and I ran the bike path route. We had a brisk pace on the path. Slowed down once we got to Colfax. But then Tom, Pete and I sprinted that last hill up to the Y.



6 Miles 44 Minutes.


Forecasting a winter storm and a foot of snow over the next few days, not sure how much I can run the next couple of days. Tomorrow is an off day.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Wash Park 7

Ran the 7 Miles with the Group at Lunch. Started with the group but it was just Tom, Jeff and I for the 7. The other half went to congress.

Weather was better today, in the 40's with Sun when we started, on the way up to 50. Long sleeve shirt with gloves and shorts to start, took the gloves off after a mile.

Nice pace. Saw Dave C, first run with him since St. George so I got to tell him my marathon story, with a happy ending for a change. Also Mary T at the Y, turns out she's ran Boston 2 years ago, she's a trainer and in great shape, but never would have guessed her as a marathon runner, much less someone who has done Boston.

Funny thing happened on the way back on 16th a few blocks away from the Y. This guy comes running from the side, older guy, in a broncos jacket. He runs across the street in front of us as we are coming down the bike lane. At first I thought he was just crossing the street before we got there, but his timing was off and he appeared to be drunk. He stopped right in front of Jeff and turned his back to him, like he wanted Jeff to plow into him. My response was "Wow Really" as we ran past. I told Jeff he should have taken the guy out, he said he thought about it.




Congratulations to Zach who ran the Marine Corps Memorial 5k with his aunt Lisa yesterday in Jeffco. Zach finished 5th overall and 3rd in his age group on a hilly course a couple of minutes off his PR of 19:04. He didn't win anything for his placement, but did win the nice Leather flag jacket (size large) in a raffle after the race.



Zach with his Jacket Prize in the Jeffco County Courthouse after the race.

Zach's Race Results


7 Miles 54 Minutes
Garmin Watch Data for Run

Friday, October 23, 2009

Mud Run with the Dogs

Worked at home today, since I got home so late. Still some snow in the shady areas in my part of town. Temps back up in the 50's and sun though.

Took the dogs (Lucy and Levi) down to the old Library and took them for a run through CC Park and the Dog Run area. They love it. Lucy just flies everywhere back and forth. At one point she flushed some pheasants from a brush. I'm not a hunter but if I was we'd be have pheasant for dinner because it was an easy shot for me from where she flushed them.

Levi trotted along. Not very crowded on a Friday at 1. Lucy jumped in the first mud puddle and layed down. I wore my trail shoes cause I knew it would be muddy from the snow melt and it was. Kinda fun though running through the trails and mud, flat. Dogs by my side. Great view of the Rockies. Running past the creek, the dogs went in and washed off all the mud and swam some. Easy run for me, easy pace and stopped to let the dogs stop play a lot. Only negative was Lucy got about 6 big burs in her hair and Gina and I had to cut them off of her when I got back.

Garmin data for mud run

4.5 Miles, 42 Minutes



4.5 Miles

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Blogging from Dulles

Catching up my running blog from Dulles Airport. 9:10 on a Thursday night.
Busy week in Germantown, Maryland for work so not a lot of time to blog so here I am on my way back to Denver, at the Dulles airport, sitting at Gordon Biersch a microbrew in the D concourse with an hour to kill so I can catch up my blog....


The weather was really nice here the whole time, in the 70's.


No Run on Monday Traveled most of the day, got to the hotel and drove around a bit, found a cool park, black hill regional park. Picked up a trail map, looked like a great place to run if I could get away sometime this week when it was daylight. About 5 miles from the hotel.

Tuesday, I was going to run in the morning, but by the time the sun rose, I had to leave for work. I worked all day and had a meeting after my training class (which I was teaching), so my brain was fried. I got back to the hotel around 6 as the sun was setting and decided to squeeze in a 3 mile run around the Montgomery County Community college campus which is right next to the hotel. Felt like running farther, but the sun was setting and this was the best I could do. It was tough to get 3 miles in on the small campus, but I did a couple of laps.
There were a bunch of deer on the campus and the surrounding foreest, kinda cool. They had while furry tails and bigger than the Cherry Creek park deer I always see. You could see them in the meadows and woods all around. I took it easy running. There was this one 6 point buck deer that stood it's ground as a I ran by. He watched me real close. I thought for a second he might charge.



Garmin Data for Mont County Community College Hotel Run



Wednesday. Worked all day, but no meeting after. so I went back to hotel, changed and drove over to the Black Hill Regional Park. Got there about 5 and hit the trails. Great trails, thick lush forrest. Leaves are just starting to turn. Wide trails with some narrow roctky areas, but much easier than Denver. The altitude there was about 500 feet. It did have some rolling hills. I would really recommend this run for anyone who is running in the area. Great paths, really thick forrest. I took my sunglasses but never used them.



Garmin Data for Black Hill Trail Run

OK, my flight is boarding so I gotta go, back to Denver....

Flight was delayed an hour after I got on the plane. Sitting here blogging on the plane now. I didn't get to fisnish my

So the Black hill trail run was neat. It started getting sunset, so the woods were getting dark, but it was such a nice trail and I was in one of those running zones, where you can just run forever at a good pace and every step feels like you are in synch with the trail and can anticipate every rock. Ran up the hills like they were nothing and flew down the hills. Several bridge crossings, a lake, some road, creek. Sunset. It was just a nice run, no marathon soreness, stiffness. I only did about 9 miles. Messed up my garmin at the end so not sure total distance. but about an hour 15 or so.

Planes fixed about to take off now, get home at 1 am.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

11 Miles at CC Park

Ran through Cherry Creek Resevoir Sate Park (CC Park), later this morning. 10 ish. Got a late start, but the only hurry was too beat the heat. Forecast was for low 80's, in mid October, what a contrast from last weekend.

I wanted to do 10 easy. Ended up closer to 11. Wasn't sure where the 10 mile turn around was.
I ran from home, over by the old library, path all the way to the main road and then over toward the porta potti. I noticed at about 4 1/2 miles they had finished the trail improvements through the marshes there, so decided to take it back to check it out. Turns out it is really nice through to the bridge, the trail is wider and smooth with small gravel.

Went to the porta potti just past 5 miles across the little bridge, then tacked on some. Wasn't sure where the 10 mile turn around point was. I guess it is at the road crossing, cause I went all the way to dirt road before the Marina and that was too far.

Nice day, got warm on the way back, my pace dropped down on the hills coming back in the heat but that was fine. Not ready to push it, 2 weeks after a marathon. Just wanted to get some distance.

I thought about the Denver Marathon a lot, my big crash and burn last year and how low I was. Also thought about the 4 hour + Marathoners this year in the heat and how that hurts and the heat exaggerates it so much.

I'll be in Maryland (Germantown area) this week for work. Hope to get a couple of runs in this week on some trails there, I'll try to blog but it's going to be a busy week and trip.

Garmin Watch Data for Run

11 Miles 1:36:04

Friday, October 16, 2009

Duck Pond - 5 Miles

Ran the duck pond today. 6 Of us ran. First I've seen of Jay since Chicago. Was fun talking to him about his first marathon and the Chicago experience. Ran with Andre, first time in a while and Craig C, hadn't seen him in a while either.

Felt good, hamstrings not so sore, some spring in my legs.

Weather looks good for the weekend. Part of me wishes I was running the Denver Marathon on Sunday.

5 Miles 42 Minutes

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Wash Park 7

Ran the Washington Park route, 7 miles today. It was a really nice day. Good group out today. Nobody ran the middle 3, but Scott picked up the tempo and left us in the dust at colfax. Alicia and Sharon joined us again and Alcia's friend Mark from Australia who is visiting.

Sharon was talking about a relay team she's putting together for next August From Utah to Wyoming. Looks like fun.

My hamstrings were sore from Yoga. The Pigeon Pose, lifting my back leg off, really made them both sore.

Tom, Craig and I went to the park at a good pace, everyone else turned off.

This was the day the Balloon Boy took off from Ft. Collins. I think it's a hoax.

7 Miles 54 Minutes.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Yoga

Went to the Y and did Yoga today, Susan's class. Good class I just felt kinda out of it today.
I did some stretching, abs and jumped on a bike a bit before class.

Busy at work, getting ready for my trip to Maryland next week. Hope to get some running in, probably have to go in the morning. Near the Germantown area.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Congress Park - 5 Miles

Ran the congress park route today with the group at lunch. A big group today. 12 of us. Sharon and Alicia joined us too. Hadn't seen Sharon in a while, she's a really good runner who does a lot of multi sport events, duathlon and triathlon, trains with Alicia quite a bit.

It was a fun run. Good group, weather cleared just before the run, sun came out and it warmed up into the 50's. Crisp fall day with the leaves turning or falling, covering the ground. Feels good to run easy and for fun with no schedule or race on the horizon.

Lots of talk about the races this weekend and upcoming races for some (Matt), the Rockies, Broncos, politics a bit of everything from such a large group. My legs felt good today, no soreness, not quite 100%, but more spring in them.

5 Miles 42 Minutes.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Cross Train at the Y

Went to the Y at lunch and lifted weights and cross trained (rowing and biking). Stretched some and talked about the weekends races with some of the guys. Great Job everyone, summary of the results are posted over on the prostates site. www.pickledprostates.com

I looked at a Calendar today, and if I start training for "Reals" on January 4th, 2010 that would put me on a 15 week schdule to Boston 2010.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sunday Morning Dog Run

Ran with the dogs this morning. Lucy and Levi. Been a while since I ran with the dogs. They needed it, they've been going stir crazy in the house for a few days, everyone being busy and the bad weather.

Original plan was to drive down to the Old library and let them run free at the dog park with me for a few miles. I could not find my keys, thought Gina had them at work, but found them later in the bed??? I could not find the extra key or get ahold of Gina so I just ran from the house. Didn't want to go over 5 miles, so we stayed in the Piney Creek neighborhood. We ran over by the high school and on the practice fields then down by the club house and back home. Easy pace the whole way, I let them stop a few times and be dogs and do what dogs do.

It was in the 30's, but warming up and the sun came out just as we were finishing.

My left outer knee was kinda hurting. Felt like I tweaked it, but I haven't done anything to tweak it, so it must be a running hangover from the Marathon last week.

Oh, and the dogs were tired and mellow the rest of the day after the run.

5 Miles 43 Minutes

Friday, October 9, 2009

Duck Pond Easy 5

First run after marathon. 6 days off running.
Felt good to run again, but definately wanted something easy.
It was nicer today, sunny in the 50's.
Alicia joined me at the 7, nobody else ran today. We talked about my marathon and her races and upcoming training schedules.

Legs were dead and quads were tight and sore epecially around knees. Left heel hurt

Good Luck to the people racing this weekend.

Chicago Marathon - Jay, Jeff and maybe Matt
Long Beach Marathon - Mark

Kona Iron Man - Steve Cav

Moab other half - Bob B

And Zach who is running the Northglenn CC Meet at 3:15, on my way to watch him...

5 Miles 44 Minutes.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

More Post Marathon Recovery

Dreary Day in Denver today, good day NOT to start running again. Cold in the 30's and rain/snow mix.
I went to the Y, stretched, rowed and did some weights.
Talked to Jeff about Chicago. Could be snow for them on race.

I updated my St. George post below with thumbnail photos from the race that match the section of the course and some captions.

Weather is supposed to clear up and first recovery run tomorrow hopefully.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Post Marathon - Recovery Recap

As much as I hate to bump down the St. George Marathon Post. I'm behind in my blog and here's what I have done since the Marathon, recovery wise...

1) Not RUN!
2) Rest...
3) Celebrate...
4) Talk to other runners and friends about the race...
5) Cross Train at the Y, row, bike.
6) Massage
7) Yoga
8) Stretching

Here's a link to my St. George Marathon Photos.

And here's a recap...

Saturday
Drove to Las Vegas early, could not sleep after Marathon. Tried to get an early flight back to Denver, but no go with Frontier. So sat at the Airport, drank a few beers and answered texts and phone calls from people about the Marathon.

Sunday
Slept well, woke up sore but happy. Laid in bed and thought about the journey to get to Boston over the years and how now it was a reality. Went to the Denver Dallas Game with the family and met some friends from Albuquerque the Armillos. We dressed in our cowboy gear (Gina, Zach - Whitten, Brittany - Barber and me - Romo) and had great seats, lower level, not many stairs to go up and down (thank god). However the cowboys lost and we were taunted as we left. I still had a smile on my face though.

Monday
Back to work, although I could have taken the day off. I felt good, more sore than Sunday, but rested so I went to work, not wanting to get behind and save a vacation day for something more fun. Went to the Y at lunch and saw all the runners, got lots of congratulations from them and other Y people. A lot of them know the heartache I felt last year and Denver and the struggles I've had this year with injuries and disappointing races and how I wanted to qualify for Boston. Thanks Guys and Girls! Did a lot of stretching and hopped on the bike for a bit to loosen things up.

Tuesday
Went to the Y and Stretched, did some weights and also rowed and biked. Felt a lot better, only a few tight/sore spots. After work I met Greg from Oklahoma for a quick beer and then went to Tara for a massage. It was good to tell Tara some good news for a change. She took my last couple of race injuries (Moab and Mt. Evans) kinda hard. The massage was really good and she worked my calfs and quads. Definately recommend a post race massage a couple of days after the soreness to help push the toxins out.

Wednesday
Went to the Y, talked to Jay some about his first Marathon, Chicago on Sunday. Did some abs and stretching and talked to Jeff about his umpteenth marathon, also Chicago. Then went to Sharon's Yoga class. Great class, very challenging, stretched things out and got the blood flowing. Need to hydrate more I think to flush the rest of the Marathon toxins out, soreness is almost gone. I felt like I could have run easy today if I wanted to, especially because the weather is so nice today and supposed to turn nasty.

I am targeting Friday for my first post Marathon run. An easy 5 mile duck pond, that will be 6 days after the Marathon.

Jeff told me I should take a week off and 1 day off for every mile in a race before you go hard again. That's 26 days, I don't think I can wait that long.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

St. George Marathon - 3:19:24

I did it....Qualified for Boston and broke 3:30 and PR'd. I did not know I had a 3:19 in me though. That really feels good, so good to have something positive after all the training and running and injuries and disappointments of the year (as my blog can verify).

I really enjoyed the race, from the moment I crossed the start line to the finish, it was by far the most enjoyable marathon I've ever done. I never got to that extreme fatigue stage that I usually do and no Injuries or cramps. I got to say the 3 week taper and rest probably was the difference. Turns out the relay legs instead of a long run 3 weeks out worked out well too. Also running with the Garmin was a big help, I could constantly monitor my pace and speed up or slow down trying to stay between 7:30 and 8:00.


Pre Race...

I did not enjoy the pre-race. I tossed and turned the night before, filled with anxiety and worst case scenarios running through my head. I don't think I ever actually slept a wink. The alarm went off at 4:00 and I was up, thank god I did not have to lay there and worry any more, I think that is the worst part for me, the night before. I got on a bus around 4:45 and took it up to the start around 5:15 an hour and a half before the race. It was really hot on the bus, so I was peeling off layers and gloves, but nobody else was, so I thought, maybe I have a fever and am sick. Ha more anxiety. We get off the bus at the start and it's 33 degrees with 15 mph wind from the north. Cold! They set up bon fires every 20 feet or so and light them for runners to stay warm. Reminded me of a bunch of hobos around a fire, only about 100 different groups. I went in and out of the fire area when I got cold. I was shivering and thinking how my muscles would be tight and I would have a bad race. There was a cool announcer there who gave a lot of St. George marathon facts and kept us entertained. The porta potti lines got long and merged into the fire circles. I did not do a bag check, those lines were long too. Instead I wore old clothes and disgarded a layer before the race and during it. I took some gu 15 minutes before the start and went to the woods to use the bathroom. That was another weird circumstance, men and women in the woods peeing before the race, no shame because you gotta go before the race, kind of a bond that runners have with each other.


Pre Race Dawn, outside the Hobo Village Fires warming the runners

The Start...
I got in behind the 3:40 pace group, mainly because it was the easiest spot to get in, but also because I wanted to start slow. The race starts and it took about 4 minutes to cross the start, but could pretty much run at pace at the start. Unlike Dallas last year. It was dawn, so there was some light but not a lot, still cold, but it felt good to be running finally. People were tossing clothes to the side along the highway. Some people had plastic bags and were tearing them off and leaving them on the road, which was bad because runners were tripping over them and you could not see. A guy behind me started yelling out load to not leave the bags in the road. The 3:40 pacer had gotten ahead of me with the other runners entering the course from the sides. I caught him at about 2 miles. I missed the first mile split, but caught the 2nd one 15:42 perfect.



Miles 3 - 7
These miles roll down hill and it was getting light. I shed my headband and put my gloves in my pocket. I got into a good pace and felt good, easy to do this early in the race. I tried not to let my pace go faster than 7:30, keeping it under 8 was no problem at all. I knew there was an uphill section ahead, so I wanted to bank some time. I also wanted to catch the 3:30 pace group, who started way ahead of me. I finally caught them about mile 5 and ran along them for a while. They were doing about a 7:30 pace which surprised me, that fast that early. The guy said he was making up time for the slow start, when he got to mile 5, he said too fast and they slowed a bit and I pulled away. I thought. I better not see that guy again or I'm in trouble.
Each mile mark had porta pottis, a sign and a big Silver Star balloon so they were easy to spot from the distance. The Odd number mile markers from 3 on were also aid stations. The road is mainly straight so you can see pretty far ahead most of the way.
I was banking time with a sub 8 pace, that I might need later. As long as I didn't burn out or hurt something. I had a couple minutes above pace at the 7 mile mark.


Early in the race, after shedding a couple of layers.

Miles 7 - 13
Just past mile 7 there is a huge hill climb, the largest of the race for about 1/2 mile it is steep, not mt evans steep but steep. I was ready for it. Jill had run this race last year and told me about the course several times as we have run together over the year. I wanted to stay around 8:30 and average 8 over the mile. I passed a lot of people on the hill. Several people were walking it, which surprised me for the pace we were running. The altitude was around 5000 feet so it was great for me, maybe not for flat landers. When you get to the peak of the hill it dips down but continues to climb and dip through mile 13. So you give back 500 feet that you got from the first 7 miles. My pace was averaging 7:50 - 8:15 on those uphill miles, so I did not bank much extra.

Feeling good about half way through

Half way
At 13.1 I was at 1:42, only 3 minutes ahead of pace. The good news was the uphill was over and now there was a lot of downhill ahead. As it turned out I ran the 2nd half in 1:37 so a negative split by 5 minutes. I was confident I could do 3:30 if I did not get injured.

Since the road is closed, a lot of people put up signs on the road for family and friends, that was kinda neat. Also amazed at how much clothing was discarded along the way. I left a hoodie sweatshirt, a long sleeve shirt, gloves and a headband myself. At various points there are cross streets where fans would be to cheer. But for the most part it was just us runners. One thing I like about it is, only marathoners are running, not halfs or relays, so we were all doing the same thing.

Miles 13-20
This section was very pretty with some neat rock formations and contrast. This was also a fast section, my pace fell below 7:30 but I was holding it comfortably, trying not to go too fast. I met a lady Christie from Evergreen, she was very friendly and chatty. Her 2nd St. George. She was fast on the downhills and I would catch her on the uphills. I talked to her on and off as we met up with each other. As it turned out we finished within 2 seconds of each other on the chip. At the aid stations they were giving out icy hot in paper plates that you could grab as you ran through. I grabbed some and put it on my calfs as I ran, just in case. They also had Vaseline and nurses and medics, very good support. As were the water/gatorade with food and gel at some. I took gu at 5, 9, 15, 21, probably could have used one more at 23.

Chasing Christy from Evergreen, she was friendly, chatty and knew the course from running it before. We finished 3 seconds apart on the chip time.

Mile 20-23
I had heard from Jill and others that it really drops in elevation from mile 20-23. You can see St. George in the distance and know you are a 10k away. It got fast on this stretch for everyone, I tried not to let myself go too fast, but did not want to restrict my quads too much, they were starting to ache, as was my right knee, runners knee, I had some problems with it last winter. I was reminded of Denver, seeing all the runners cramp or come up lame. I was 8 minutes ahead of schedule with 6 left, so I started getting confident in reaching my goal, but cautious about an injury. One guy in particular I remember pulling up lame and cussing and stopping, I could feel his frustration, I had been there 1 year ago.


Fast Downhills after Mile 20, my feet hardly touched the ground.


Mile 23 - 25
These miles were fun, as the road flattened out some and you ran into town. Lots of spectators. It started to get a bit hot on the wide streets of St. George. I did these miles under 7:30. I started to back off and coast in and enjoy the last part without injury or worry, then realized I was within range of 3:20. My Nemesis from last year. Could I really break 3:20. If I held 7:30 for the last 2.2 miles, I could.

Getting Close in town, St. George, UT

Finish
The last mile seemed long, I felt slow and fatigue was setting in. I was ready to finish, but I was also excited. I was definitely on pace for a sub 3:20 and wanted it, even if I pulled up lame and had to walk across I decided to go for it. It seemed to take forever to get to the finish, a few turns and then a long stretch of about a half mile at the end. I could see the balloons, the crowd cheering. It was great. I always have calf cramps at the end of the marathon just before the finish. I tried to focus on my pace and legs, not to push too hard and cramp. Right at the very last, my right calf shot up with a cramp, about 20 feet from the finish. I pulled up and limped through, but the cramp died as soon as I stopped. I did it. 3:19:24. I was so happy. I just stood there kind of stunned. A medic asked me if I was OK, I said, "Yeah, I'm just stunned".


Home Stretch at St. George and Finish. Chip time 3:19:24

Post Race
I was so happy. I went through the shower/mist area to cool off and then headed to the post race. Nice post race area. Ice cream, food, soda, fruit. Runners only allowed. One guy was passed out there with a crowd around him. Scary, they ended up taking him away in an ambulance. I went to the results tent and they printed out a sticker with my time 3:19:24. I was so happy. I sat down and ate my ice cream and soaked up the sun and thought about the long journey it took me to get here and qualify for Boston.

Post Race Smiles - Felt so good to reach this goal!

I was stranded at the race, there was no shuttle back to the hotel that I could find and it was a mile and a half walk. I eventually started walking and regretted it. I hurt everywhere, quads, knee calfs, feet, blisters on my little toe. Miserable. I stumbled across a nice lady and her kids (5 of them) in a min van. She had just asked another guy walking if he wanted a ride and he said no. So I asked her for a ride to the holiday inn, she said OK and I got in (turns out she knew the other guy she offered a ride to). The van was full of kids, the mom said they were from salt lake. They were all so nice, asking me about my race and if I PR'd and qualified for Boston. Their dad had just run it. They dropped me off at my hotel and I could not wait to get a shower and send out text messages to family and friends about the race..

St. George Marathon 2009 Online Results

Garmin Watch Data for Marathon

Saturday, October 3, 2009

St. George Marathon

3:19:24. Qualified for Boston. Yes. Felt good the whole way. Great course, was built for my running style. Recovering in the hotel now with a big smile on my face before I head back to Denver tonight. I'll write it up when I get back.
From Dennis via BlackBerry

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Blog from Blackberry

Testing my blog from blackberry.
I plan to do a post race blog with results from my blackberry from St. George. So today's blog is a test.

Was busy at work today and also gathering info for my trip. Flight leaves at 8:10 am tomorrow. Packing my bag tonight. Gina taking me tomorrow morning.

Went to the Y for a short workout of stretching and chatting. Talked to a few runners and ex runners. Thanks to everyone for all the luck and confidence you've thrown my way.

1 more day...
Sent via BlackBerry