Marathon Relay Complete, Next is Hocking Hills

I am sitting here at my computer watching Monday Night Countdown counting down the minutes until Monday Night Football starts on ESPN between the Bears and the Packers. I think I mentioned this last year, but it’s great having a girlfriend who not only tolerates but enjoys sitting on the couch watching football on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoons! Sure, we’re not going to do it all the time; but when the big game is on, it’s comforting knowing that she doesn’t mind it one bit. Haha! Thank you, Jenn, for being so cool. You really make me smile!

This past Saturday I ran in the Akron Marathon Relay with some co-workers. It is a 5-person relay that goes the full length of the 26.2-mile marathon. The legs’ distances are 3.5 miles, 5.7 miles, 6.3 miles, 2.8 miles, and 7.9 miles. My leg was originally scheduled to be the 3.5-mile leg, but one of the team members had a slight injury with his foot that prompted us to switch up the order to give him an easier leg. So, the team all voted for me to take his 5.7-mile leg. At first I was not thrilled at all about it since I’ve been working at our non-headquarters location for a while and had gotten out of my running routine and was not as prepared for that type of distance. However, it was best for the team, so I agreed and took on the challenge. After a few hard weeks of preparation, I think I did pretty well, running an 8:28 pace for those 5.7 miles. Normally my pace for 3.5 miles is right around 8:00 or 8:05 per mile (I ran an 8:07 pace for a 5-mile race in Canton in August, but that was when I was going well with my routine).

Anyway, our team gave our goals/predictions for how we all thought we’d do with our respective legs, and the estimated finish time came out to 3 hours, 41 minutes. On race day, though, we actually ran 3 hours, 36 minutes! The weather was perfect for a race! At the start of the race the weather called for 51 degrees, and it was very close to that, probably in the mid-50’s. It was chilly before the race began; but once your body gets going, that temperature feels great. It didn’t get windy until later in the day, so that was a plus.

Now that the big race of the year is over, it’s going to be tough to keep up the routine of running 3 times a week. However, having co-workers and our running circle of friends that motivate each other to get out there, I think I’ll be fine. That’s one of my goals this winter – to keep running through the Fall and Winter months.

OH! Jennifer and I are going to Hocking Hills this Saturday. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. It was actually my Senior year of high school during our Science Club trip. Jenn has never been there, so I am excited to expose her to the trails, cliffs, and other fascinating objects of nature. It might be cold and/or wet, but it’ll be worth it. The one thing that stinks, though, is that the night before we have a football game at Indian Valley’s varsity football field, which is in Gnadenhutten. Where is that, you might ask? It is about 20 minutes South of New Philadelphia. It’s a haul! We are going to get back late Friday night, so sleep will be at a premium this week. Ugh!

Smile! May God continue to bless you.