Mo Sno

Yippee!

Looks like this could be a pretty decent one! After this one is over I will be ready for the big melt down and the big warm up. My guess is that it will happen pretty rapidly; we are to mid-February already.

Kedra and I made a quick trip to Nashville Friday afternoon; we returned last night. The primary purpose (excuse) for the trip was for me to run a half marathon in the Cedars of Lebanon State Park. Of course getting to spend time with our Luke and Earl and Rebecca Lavender was also a huge factor.

We had a very nice, enjoyable time. Luke, along with Caroline, joined us for dinner with Earl and Rebecca. As always the meal was great! Carbo-loading. Great excuse to really pig out!

Earl has been injured, so he was unsure if he could run at all. This didn't stop him from trying. The race was 11 a.m. TN time, so we had a relaxed morning and a nice breakfast before heading out.

We got out there and signed up. Earl got permission to start early, since he was unsure if he could do it. I lined up and took off. I wanted a good solid relatively fast run; not an all-out effort. My goal was to run at about an 8 minute mile pace.

The course is hilly, and the first mile has a long steep hill in it. I also got into traffic problems with other runners. I was a little disappointed that my first mile was 8.30. I got clear of everyone and picked up the pace; mile two was 7.40. Then I settled into a sub-8 pace for a while. Hills and water stations slowed me some during the last half, but I finished in 1.43.22, which is put me in with an overall pace of 7.53 per mile.

I was pretty pleased with that. I ran the same race last year in 1.54.30, so that's a pretty significant improvement. It is also 1 minute faster than my Indy mini time. The weight loss and the steady higher miles of a year have paid off. Now I have to put it all together for the big Boston qualifier on April 24. Lots and lots of miles to run and speed work of various forms to do to get ready for it.

Earl did very well. He finished in a good time and was quite pleased.