They all can't be "easy" runs.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 36:59. 8:02 pace. 5:45 pm start. 88 deg. 61% hum. 73 d.p. Bonus Gravity. 

p.s. I mapped out a 17.3 mile run in this area for Saturday. http://vimeo.com/89449814

Another town, another bridge. Should be cool. 

5.2 Miles. Ringling Bridge. 5:40 pm start. 40:06. 7:43 pace. 89 deg. 65% hum. 75 d.p.

17.3 Miles in Palm Coast / Beverly Beach / Flagler Beach. 5:40 am start. 84 deg. 75% hum.  75 d.p. Fantastic run through linear park, over intracoastal waterway, up A1A to Flagler Beach Pier and Back to Grandma's house. I saw Bambi on this run. very cool. I did get turned around a couple of times, but I know I ran at least 17.3. Then a whole bunch of swimming with kids, and lots of boogie board time. These kids must be tired. I know I am.

Another cool 9.5 Miles in Palm Coast / Beverly Beach / Flagler Beach. 6:00 am start. 1:25:08. 8:58 pace. 77 deg. 89% hum.  74 d.p. No Bambi sightings today, but I did get to see some Manatees and Dolphins.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 37:05. 8:04 pace. 5:45 pm start. 89 deg. 60% hum. 72 d.p. "Feels like" 95. "Tastes Like" I ate a bug in the first mile. Yum. SBVD waved as I was hacking up the bug. Timing is everything. 

Hood route repeat miles. 1.75 up. 4 min. Rest. 6:10 mile. 4 min. Rest. 6:14 mile. 4 min. Rest. 6:14 mile. 4 min. Rest. 0.75 down. 5:45 am start. 82 deg. 74% hum. 75 d.p. Would have gone for the 4th mile, but I ran out of time. 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 36:12. 7:52 pace. 5:45 pm start. 89 deg. 60% hum. 73 d.p. "Feels like" 97. This must be the day everyone signed up to take a class on the water- little sailboats,  paddleboards, etc. everywhere.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 38:19. 8:20 pace. 5:45 pm start. 91 deg. 55% hum. 72 d.p. No way that humidity reading is right. 

16.25 miles. Legacy Trail to Circus Bridge and back. 6:30 am start. 2:25:58. 8:59 pace. 82 deg., 84% hum. 75 d.p.

Nice and easy. Lots of runners and cyclists out today, and all of them waving, or saying good morning.

Due to all of the rain yesterday, there was steam coming up from the earth at the start of the run. Also, I had to duck a lot of low hanging, rain-saturated branches.

10.2 miles. Legacy Trail to Colonia and Back. 2:15 pm start. 1:22:03. 8:03 pace. 86 deg. 66% hum. 73 d.p. 40:11 at halfway. Last mile in 7:43.

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 35:33. 7:45 pace. 5:45 pm start. 89 deg. 61% hum. 74 d.p. 

I planned to run Tuesday morning, but I was rained out. I usually don't mind running in the rain, but Tuesday morning was especially rainy. Anyhow, I found a cool video of this area from Tuesday night (when the skies had become much clearer). Most Saturdays, after the long run, I take my boys to this beach for skim boarding: http://youtu.be/twLHAqCg3to

Check out the manatees and dolphins next to the jetty!  

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 35:38. 7:45 pace. 5:45 pm start. 81 deg. 77% hum. 73 d.p.

Flying to Des Moines

3 miles easy in Des Moines. Temps are perfect. Then we drove through 3.5 hours of CORN to get to Lake Okoboji. We drove the course, and it is quite hilly. fast hills. up and down like whoop-de-doos on a BMX track. ths is going to be interesting. 6 am start.

I had 2 goals for this race:

1. Prove that I can run the second half of a marathon faster than the first. Came closer than I have before, but I didn't do it.

2. Beat all of the half marathoners that started 2 hours after the marathoners. I don’t remember being passed, but the math works out that one of the half-ers beat me. 

The course is 3 miles out, then you come back by the start, and then continue around the lake back to the start. The hilliest parts are in the first 3 miles, which you go through 3 times.

Up at 4:30. The folks at The Three Sons told me about a place I could park that I could leave as soon as my race was over. We were in the lakefront parking spot at 5. There may have been 10 people total there when we got there. Then a group of "early starters" arrived. I asked what that was. Apparently, if you are a 5+ hour marathoner, they give you a bit of a break from the mid-summer heat, by letting you go out a half hour early. So John and I, and maybe 5 other people cheered as they went off. We walked around for a bit as I stretched. Then I went to the POP one last time. It was like I walked out of the bathroom, and they started my race, like they were waiting for me. It was really kind of funny. They made an announcement that there was a guy who had run all 37 years of the U. of O. marathon, and that this was his 100th marathon. I didn't know it, but the guy was standing right next to me. He said a few words and fired the gun.

There were 4 guys that went straight out, then a small gap, then me, then a big gap, then everybody else. I know I had about a half mile on everybody else at the 3 mile turn around. At @ mile 6 really tall short shorts guy came flying by me, like he started late or something. I don't feel like I changed my pace at any point, but a few miles later, he came back into sight. So I thought I should try to catch him - Slowly. I finally passed him @ mile 17-ish. Then I was really alone. @ mile 20, I saw one of the 4 fast starters, and then I reeled him in within a couple of miles. It is really strange for me to not be falling apart at the end of a race, and to have my wits about me, and be enjoying views, and thinking of catching people, but here I was. I had gone from 6th to 4th late in a race. Crazy. I saw 3rd place guy up ahead walking with his hands on his hips @ mile 23. He saw me coming, and was really pushing to not let me pass, but he didn't have it. At the exact moment I passed him, we both passed 2nd place guy, who was sitting on the ground, getting medical attention. People that live around the lake kept telling me I was in second, but I didn't believe it, even though I had done the math to figure it out. 3:19 is a decent marathon time, and all, but for 2nd place, not so much. I forgot to stop my watch at the finish, but I knew at that point the neg. split goal was shot.

Then, I had to go swim in the lake. I had to. You can't run a race like this and not do that. It was flipping cold! and rocky! We went back to the hotel, cheering for all of the runners still out on the course as we went by. I soaked in the hotel hot tub for @ 15 minutes. Then we got in the car, and drove through 3.5 hours of CORN to get to Des Moines. We stopped in the "town" of Mallard, so I could get a picture of John in front of a Gimungous Duck. I got home at midnight, and started typing this.

This race gets a lot of bad reviews on the interwebs, and frankly, I don't get it. Maybe I just caught this race on a good weather year. The people that put on the race, were overly helpful and kind. If you need big crowds cheering for you, this ain't your race. You had to look for spray painted markings on the ground, but they were there. Plenty of powerade at the finish. I had a great time, and would rate this experience very favorably. I think that starting the half-ers late is brilliant, and all races that combine the distances should do this. The hills were a bit tough, but I handled them better than I thought I would. 50 yards of climb, 50 yards of drop, 50 yards of climb, 50 yards of drop, and so on. It was way better than the solid mile of climb you see in some races. I liked it. The only real negative thing I can come up with is that this race is not very convenient to get to.

Iowa is done. Next.

3 mile split: 20:36.    Half split: 1:38:39

http://www.allsportcentral.com/photoGallery/index.cfm?PGConfigID=1161&BIB=696&eventID=54137

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 38:46. 8:26 pace. 5:45 pm start. 89 deg. 60% hum. 73 d.p. "Feels like" 97. 1st run back at it, and it was pretty rough. Yeah, I was going to hold out until Friday, but I felt fine, and waiting for the sake of waiting was driving me nuts. 

I'm going to do @ 5.5 miles with Brian on Friday, and hopefully, we'll beat the 8 minute man. If Friday afternoon weather is similar to Thursday, we might be in trouble.

I'm kind of in limbo, training-wise for a couple of weeks. I don't get rolling on the Savannah training until August 8. So, I'll be running what I feel like running until then. 

5.5 miles on legacy trail with Brian. 42:47. 7:47 pace. 5:30 pm start. We beat the 8 minute man! 86 deg.70% hum 75 d.p.

7.5 miles. Hood route to Legacy Trail and back. 1:45 start. 90 deg. 66% hum. 77 d.p. "Feels like" 102! After a Huge Brunch of French Toast! Syrup Burps! Excellent!

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 37:30. 8:09 pace. 5:45 pm start. 90 deg. 57% hum. 73 d.p. 

4.6 miles. Ringling Bridge. 37:01. 8:03 pace. 5:45 pm start. 89 deg. 53% hum. 70 d.p. 

Something is wrong with my right hip. Cut the usual ringling bridge run short. we'll see how this goes saturday.