2009 Richmond 10 Miler

Richmond, VA 10/03/2009 This is another race that has taught me to respect the distance. I finished this race, but I felt terrible the whole way through.

Lisa and I walked to the start of the race from our hotel, which was about one mile away. My plan for the race was to average 165 heart beats per minute, but my body was not ready for the strain.

I had problem getting my heart rate up in the beginning of the race. I was running pretty fast, and felt good, but my heart rate would not climb above 160. At around mile three I started to cramp while running up a short steep hill. I had to stop and walk for a bit to get the pain to go away.

This was the first of seven episodes I experience of this type of cramping. Needless to say, I learned my lesson of coming out of the blocks to fast. This ended up being my slowest 10 mile time ever.

2009 Virginia Beach Half Marathon

Virgina Beach, VA 09/06/2009 I don't care what the distance on a race is, if you end up on the beach with a beer, that race is a success. The Virginia Beach half marathon had perfect weather and was a flat course. It was the perfect course on which to set a new record, but I'm slipping. I ended up with my slowest half marathon time ever, but it was a very enjoyable run.