ORN: 5.1 miles, R5/W1, 55:10, 10:43/mile
The rule of thumb that the sorest you'll be is two days after the run is certainly true. I had a very enjoyable 17.5 mile run on Monday and woke up this morning pretty stiff. I got out the door, though, and had a very easy five miler. And, as usual, after the first couple of miles, the legs loosened up, I got moving more smoothly and the run was in the books.
And, after a loooooooong Midwest winter, I can't tell you how good it is to just toss on a shirt and shorts and head out the door in the early morning. That alone makes the running worthwhile.
Looking ahead to the next event, the nation's largest half-marathon in Indy on May 3 (also known as "tres de Mayo" in Indiana), the weather may not be all that good...looking like it will be warm and possibly muggy. Makes me very glad I pushed for a good time in the first of this series of five spring half marathons. It sure is fun, though, to have a series of races fall together so nicely.
Also, a quick shout out to blogging buddy David who is running the Country Music Marathon in Nashville this weekend. Enjoy the hills, David, and persevere to the end!!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sunrise
ORN: 5 miles, R6/W1
What a treat! After groggily dragging myself out of bed for a five-miler in chilly 31F weather, I got a unexpected thrill.
My favorite Cumberland Woods route takes me 2.5 miles west then I turn around to head home. I slogged through the out portion, not very awake, thinking about a very, very busy day ahead of me.
Then I hit the turnaround point.
The cold weather came with a high pressure system which made the sky cloudless. By this time, the pre-dawn light was just barely visible over the eastern horizon. The palest of pinks, grays, purples and blues danced slowly with each other as I made my way back home. The entire tapestry of light was painted before me. Birds, just returned to the Heartland after having the good sense to winter farther south, were singing their hearts out. No humans were around, the trail was just out there, alone, with the sky, the birds and me clomping along. It was indescribable.
On the front end of a work day which will extend past 11:00pm tonight, it was a marvelous morning. I hope yours is as well, as you persevere.
What a treat! After groggily dragging myself out of bed for a five-miler in chilly 31F weather, I got a unexpected thrill.
My favorite Cumberland Woods route takes me 2.5 miles west then I turn around to head home. I slogged through the out portion, not very awake, thinking about a very, very busy day ahead of me.
Then I hit the turnaround point.
The cold weather came with a high pressure system which made the sky cloudless. By this time, the pre-dawn light was just barely visible over the eastern horizon. The palest of pinks, grays, purples and blues danced slowly with each other as I made my way back home. The entire tapestry of light was painted before me. Birds, just returned to the Heartland after having the good sense to winter farther south, were singing their hearts out. No humans were around, the trail was just out there, alone, with the sky, the birds and me clomping along. It was indescribable.
On the front end of a work day which will extend past 11:00pm tonight, it was a marvelous morning. I hope yours is as well, as you persevere.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
A Civilian Again
ORN: 5.1 miles, R6/W1
It was a big day today for our family. My oldest son David was given his honorable discharge from the US Army yesterday after nearly 5.5 years of service. He arrived back home early this morning.
David was in boot camp when the US invasion of Iraq took place. He served a 12 month tour on the DMZ in South Korea plus 12 and 15 month deployments in Iraq. He has just been away from his wife and three kids for another 2 months outprocessing at his base in Colorado Springs.
We're glad to have him home.
I first caught up with him at noon today, after he'd had maybe 3 hours of sleep. While young Miss B was napping and his wife was teaching at her post at the local community college, David was just enjoying being with the 4 year old twins...who were waaaaaaay less sleepy than Daddy. Never mind...it was all right, being together again.
Plans are for David to take some time getting reaquainted with the family he's missed so much of, then begin coursework in the fall towards a Physician's Assistant degree, building on his Army medic experience.
Rejoice with us...we've all persevered.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Race Report: Indiana University Half Marathon
ORN: 13.1 miles, Run, 2:03:11, 9:25/mile
Race Summary
The first time I’ve ever run half marathons on back-to-back weekends. I shot for a 2:05 on this hilly course and beat that, with a negative split to boot. Cool and clear, another perfect day for running made for a most enjoyable outing.
Race Details
Sitting at dinner Friday night, Gretchen posed a question.
“So you are running a race tomorrow in Bloomington?”
Yep.
“And how far is this one?”
It’s another half marathon, the same as last weekend.
“And what time do you have to leave in the morning?”
Uh, that would be 5:00am.
A pause and a smile; “And you regard this as huge fun?”
I just smiled in return. She loves me a lot.
I was up at 4:30 and backing out of the garage at 5:00am. (Gretchen reported later my departure didn’t disturb her sleep!) The 2 hour drive was uneventful, as was check-in. The temperature at the start was around 38, with projections to the mid 40s by the end of the race. Sunny skies and no wind made this quite enjoyable…a couple of technical layers and gloves were quite adequate.
Work and life intervened this week and I only had a single 5 mile run since last weeks half marathon. I wondered what my goal to “Run the best race conditions allow” meant this week. I concluded, rather quickly, the race would not be as quick as last week. It was a new course to me this week (vs the known course last week), a hilly course (vs a flat one) and my legs were not as fresh. David encouraged me not to over think this race and I didn’t. A target of 2:05 seemed about right; I wore my clunky Brooks Beasts and determined to just enjoy a lovely day.
The race started on time. I estimated about 800-1000 folks ran. We wove in and around the campus of Indiana University, a beautiful place, and the college town of Bloomington, Indiana. The course was quite hilly; I would guess there wasn’t more than 1 mile of the 13 even close to flat. We were up and down all the way.
Splits are deceiving on the hills. The “up” miles came in around 9:45 or so; the “down” miles were close to 9 even. I just tried to keep an even effort. Doing the math after the race, I did the first six miles in 56:48 (9:28/mile), and the next six in 56:35 (9:26/mile). That pleased me a lot.
During the Sam Costa race last week, a fellow runner observed the first six miles or so seem to crawl by, while the last mile seem to start clicking by very quickly. I’d never heard that so succinctly; I found it to be true last week and the same thing this week. All of a sudden miles 8, 9, 10, 11 just clipped by. The second half went really quickly, in my mind.
My legs felt heavy during the first few miles, worse than last week. But they seemed to perk up around mile 5 or so. By the time we got to mile 12, I knew I had gas left in the tank, so cranked it up a bit. Mile 13 went by in 8:53 and the Garmin told me I ran the last tenth, a downhill sprint to the finish line, at a 5:52 pace. It was very nice to see 2:03:11 on the watch. The organizers had a great finish; plenty of water and food, a nice medal, a great shirt and all for 25 bucks...a terrific value.
This has nothing to do with anything but it puzzled me during the race: Why do college kids not wear gloves? There were a lot of fresh-faced, intelligent-looking kids helping to direct runners on this chilly morning. But not a one of them had on gloves. Shirts, hoodies or coats were pulled down over their hands, shoulders scrunched up to keep the hands in the sleeves. All of them. My son, in college, won’t wear gloves either. Why?? I don’t understand. And I sound like an old fogie…
I had a first after the race. I was walking to my car when a man drove by, rolled down his window and said "Are you Joe Ely?" Well, yes. "Great! I read your blog!" How cool. Randy, thanks for stopping by and talking...it was great to meet you and your pal. Good luck in the Flying Pig!
As a proud graduate of Purdue University, I couldn’t help having some fun with our archrival Indiana University. So, after the race, I pulled on my Purdue shirt and had my photo taken in front of Assembly Hall, IU’s palace of basketball, former home of Bobby Knight and Kelvin Sampson. Go Boilers...we don't have scandals.
It was a fun day. Race 2 of 5 in the spring series in the books. I’m enjoying it.
Persevere.
Race Summary
The first time I’ve ever run half marathons on back-to-back weekends. I shot for a 2:05 on this hilly course and beat that, with a negative split to boot. Cool and clear, another perfect day for running made for a most enjoyable outing.
Race Details
Sitting at dinner Friday night, Gretchen posed a question.
“So you are running a race tomorrow in Bloomington?”
Yep.
“And how far is this one?”
It’s another half marathon, the same as last weekend.
“And what time do you have to leave in the morning?”
Uh, that would be 5:00am.
A pause and a smile; “And you regard this as huge fun?”
I just smiled in return. She loves me a lot.
I was up at 4:30 and backing out of the garage at 5:00am. (Gretchen reported later my departure didn’t disturb her sleep!) The 2 hour drive was uneventful, as was check-in. The temperature at the start was around 38, with projections to the mid 40s by the end of the race. Sunny skies and no wind made this quite enjoyable…a couple of technical layers and gloves were quite adequate.
Work and life intervened this week and I only had a single 5 mile run since last weeks half marathon. I wondered what my goal to “Run the best race conditions allow” meant this week. I concluded, rather quickly, the race would not be as quick as last week. It was a new course to me this week (vs the known course last week), a hilly course (vs a flat one) and my legs were not as fresh. David encouraged me not to over think this race and I didn’t. A target of 2:05 seemed about right; I wore my clunky Brooks Beasts and determined to just enjoy a lovely day.
The race started on time. I estimated about 800-1000 folks ran. We wove in and around the campus of Indiana University, a beautiful place, and the college town of Bloomington, Indiana. The course was quite hilly; I would guess there wasn’t more than 1 mile of the 13 even close to flat. We were up and down all the way.
Splits are deceiving on the hills. The “up” miles came in around 9:45 or so; the “down” miles were close to 9 even. I just tried to keep an even effort. Doing the math after the race, I did the first six miles in 56:48 (9:28/mile), and the next six in 56:35 (9:26/mile). That pleased me a lot.
During the Sam Costa race last week, a fellow runner observed the first six miles or so seem to crawl by, while the last mile seem to start clicking by very quickly. I’d never heard that so succinctly; I found it to be true last week and the same thing this week. All of a sudden miles 8, 9, 10, 11 just clipped by. The second half went really quickly, in my mind.
My legs felt heavy during the first few miles, worse than last week. But they seemed to perk up around mile 5 or so. By the time we got to mile 12, I knew I had gas left in the tank, so cranked it up a bit. Mile 13 went by in 8:53 and the Garmin told me I ran the last tenth, a downhill sprint to the finish line, at a 5:52 pace. It was very nice to see 2:03:11 on the watch. The organizers had a great finish; plenty of water and food, a nice medal, a great shirt and all for 25 bucks...a terrific value.
This has nothing to do with anything but it puzzled me during the race: Why do college kids not wear gloves? There were a lot of fresh-faced, intelligent-looking kids helping to direct runners on this chilly morning. But not a one of them had on gloves. Shirts, hoodies or coats were pulled down over their hands, shoulders scrunched up to keep the hands in the sleeves. All of them. My son, in college, won’t wear gloves either. Why?? I don’t understand. And I sound like an old fogie…
I had a first after the race. I was walking to my car when a man drove by, rolled down his window and said "Are you Joe Ely?" Well, yes. "Great! I read your blog!" How cool. Randy, thanks for stopping by and talking...it was great to meet you and your pal. Good luck in the Flying Pig!
As a proud graduate of Purdue University, I couldn’t help having some fun with our archrival Indiana University. So, after the race, I pulled on my Purdue shirt and had my photo taken in front of Assembly Hall, IU’s palace of basketball, former home of Bobby Knight and Kelvin Sampson. Go Boilers...we don't have scandals.
It was a fun day. Race 2 of 5 in the spring series in the books. I’m enjoying it.
Persevere.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Race Report: Sam Costa Half Marathon
ORN: 13.1 miles, Run, 1:58:27, 9:03/mile
Race Summary
A perfect day for running led to as satisfying a race as I have had in two years. A negative split, running at, but not over, the edge in a race that just “flowed” made for a terrific event.
Race Details
The race was part of a marvelous day. Gretchen went with me on this trip and we spent the entire day in Indianapolis. Out the door at 7, having marvelous conversation watching the sun slowly appear above the flat eastern horizon, we got to the start in plenty of time. The race attracted about 500 runners in both a half and an (unusual) quarter-marathon, so bib pick-up was a very simple issue. No timing chips, no goodie bag, just a simple long run.
I’d been watching the weather in Indy and the forecast was acurate. The day was sunny and cool, with temperatures in the mid 30s by the start of the race and it barely made 40 by the time we finished. After registration, I settled on which set of shirts I’d wear, Gretchen chuckling at my angst over such issues; I had already decided though to wear shorts (being part of a distinct minority with bare legs).
In mid-December, I wrote up Analyzing the Rocket City Marathon, the result of which was a new goal for races: “Run the Best Race Conditions Allow.” Today was my first application of that goal. What would these race conditions allow? The weather was near perfect; only a 15mph East wind marred the sunny, cool temperatures supporting a great race. I was fresh, uninjured. The pack was small, allowing a good rhythm. The course was quite flat and I knew it, this being the third time I’ve run it in four years. So, putting this all together, I decided it was quite reasonable my “best race” today would be a sub 2 hour run. I haven’t been under 2 since June, 2006 and was anxious to see if I could do it again. So, I made three decisions.
First, I chose to run rather than use the Run/Walk. Second, I opted to not wear my heavy Brooks Beast motion-control shoes and wore instead a pair of Brooks Adrenalines with only 60 miles on them. Even though they don’t control pronation like the Beast, I figured one race would not trigger a permanent problem. Third, I used the Virtual Trainer tool on my Garmin to keep me on pace and mentally prepared to hold back through the first 5+ miles in order to hold the pace steady at the end.
Goodness, after all that navel-gazing, it was great to finally start the race. (You were wondering if I was ever going to get to the actual race description…)
The course is a giant figure 8. The top loop is “Once Around the Gravel Pit,” a large excavation operation suppling much of Indianapolis. I took off easy and the first five miles clicked by in 9:10, 9:02, 9:19, 9:08 and 9:10. I felt very smooth and enjoyed the run. Even though the Brooks Adrenalines are a training shoe, they felt like racing flats compared to the clunky Beast. I felt light-footed.
Around mile 6, I fell in with a couple of ladies running near my pace but ever-so-slightly faster. I still felt good and pushed pace slightly; as a result, miles 6-9 came through at 9:04, 8:55, 9:16 and 8:50. The 15 mph wind was at our backs for miles 6-8 and it was a help. I still felt good and was feeling more and more confident a sub-2 was a possibility.
The second loop is “Parade of Beautiful Homes” as we then wound through the upscale, gracious, brick-faced homes of the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel. (Indiana note: We pronounce the town “CAR-mel,” as in corn, not like the trendy city just north of San Francisco of “car-MEL.” This is Indiana, of course). During this section, the miles really started clicking off, as I fell into a groove and just held the pace. Miles 10-12 popped in at 9:05, 8:53 and 9:04.
When I passed the 12 mile marker, I tried to push the pace up just a bit. I picked out a few runners ahead of me and gradually gained on them. With 0.4 to go, we turned up a hill, the east wind now directly in our face. I pushed it anyway, passed several folks, came around a corner to see the finish line and was thrilled to still see a “1” on the official race clock. Gretchen, my nephew and his two kids were there cheering and I motored across the line. The last 1.1 mile went at 9:28, an 8:37 pace, my watch said 1:58:27. The sub 2 was in the bank.
Subsequent analysis was encouraging. The overall pace was 9:03. While it is hard to be specific about negative splits without a measured midway point in a half marathon, I did figure this. The first 6 miles took me 54:51, or 9:09/mile. The next six miles took me 54:07, or 9:02/mile. The last 1.1 was at an 8:37 pace, so I’ll call it a negative split. I’ve never run a negative split before; I now know the appeal…what a rush. Not a single person passed me in the last 5 miles. My slowest mile was 9:19 and that included a quick trip to the porta-potty in mile 3. My quickest mile was #13 at 8:44.
Subjectively, I hit the elusive “sweet spot” of running in this race. I truly don’t think I could have run this race much faster. The entire effort was out there on the course; no regrets at all. I held the pace as hard as I felt I could for the entire distance. It felt under control…I was pushing it but not over the top. Scrapping the run/walk on race day worked just fine. The shoe change worked and I think had a role. While I felt my feet hurting a bit around mile 11, there seemed to be no damage afterwards. I have no idea when or if I’ll next find such a perfect combination of weather, course and preparation…so I’m glad I took advantage of it today.
I got a hot shower at my nephew’s house, four blocks from the finish line; it was also a treat to see his two sons, John and TJ, above. Gretchen and I then had a 2 hour lunch with old friends, did some shopping and had a marvelous day together in the city; she’s a gem.
Does it get much better? No, it doesn’t. Thanks for savoring a wonderful day with me.
Persevere. No matter what the day holds.
Race Summary
A perfect day for running led to as satisfying a race as I have had in two years. A negative split, running at, but not over, the edge in a race that just “flowed” made for a terrific event.
Race Details
The race was part of a marvelous day. Gretchen went with me on this trip and we spent the entire day in Indianapolis. Out the door at 7, having marvelous conversation watching the sun slowly appear above the flat eastern horizon, we got to the start in plenty of time. The race attracted about 500 runners in both a half and an (unusual) quarter-marathon, so bib pick-up was a very simple issue. No timing chips, no goodie bag, just a simple long run.
I’d been watching the weather in Indy and the forecast was acurate. The day was sunny and cool, with temperatures in the mid 30s by the start of the race and it barely made 40 by the time we finished. After registration, I settled on which set of shirts I’d wear, Gretchen chuckling at my angst over such issues; I had already decided though to wear shorts (being part of a distinct minority with bare legs).
In mid-December, I wrote up Analyzing the Rocket City Marathon, the result of which was a new goal for races: “Run the Best Race Conditions Allow.” Today was my first application of that goal. What would these race conditions allow? The weather was near perfect; only a 15mph East wind marred the sunny, cool temperatures supporting a great race. I was fresh, uninjured. The pack was small, allowing a good rhythm. The course was quite flat and I knew it, this being the third time I’ve run it in four years. So, putting this all together, I decided it was quite reasonable my “best race” today would be a sub 2 hour run. I haven’t been under 2 since June, 2006 and was anxious to see if I could do it again. So, I made three decisions.
First, I chose to run rather than use the Run/Walk. Second, I opted to not wear my heavy Brooks Beast motion-control shoes and wore instead a pair of Brooks Adrenalines with only 60 miles on them. Even though they don’t control pronation like the Beast, I figured one race would not trigger a permanent problem. Third, I used the Virtual Trainer tool on my Garmin to keep me on pace and mentally prepared to hold back through the first 5+ miles in order to hold the pace steady at the end.
Goodness, after all that navel-gazing, it was great to finally start the race. (You were wondering if I was ever going to get to the actual race description…)
The course is a giant figure 8. The top loop is “Once Around the Gravel Pit,” a large excavation operation suppling much of Indianapolis. I took off easy and the first five miles clicked by in 9:10, 9:02, 9:19, 9:08 and 9:10. I felt very smooth and enjoyed the run. Even though the Brooks Adrenalines are a training shoe, they felt like racing flats compared to the clunky Beast. I felt light-footed.
Around mile 6, I fell in with a couple of ladies running near my pace but ever-so-slightly faster. I still felt good and pushed pace slightly; as a result, miles 6-9 came through at 9:04, 8:55, 9:16 and 8:50. The 15 mph wind was at our backs for miles 6-8 and it was a help. I still felt good and was feeling more and more confident a sub-2 was a possibility.
The second loop is “Parade of Beautiful Homes” as we then wound through the upscale, gracious, brick-faced homes of the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel. (Indiana note: We pronounce the town “CAR-mel,” as in corn, not like the trendy city just north of San Francisco of “car-MEL.” This is Indiana, of course). During this section, the miles really started clicking off, as I fell into a groove and just held the pace. Miles 10-12 popped in at 9:05, 8:53 and 9:04.
When I passed the 12 mile marker, I tried to push the pace up just a bit. I picked out a few runners ahead of me and gradually gained on them. With 0.4 to go, we turned up a hill, the east wind now directly in our face. I pushed it anyway, passed several folks, came around a corner to see the finish line and was thrilled to still see a “1” on the official race clock. Gretchen, my nephew and his two kids were there cheering and I motored across the line. The last 1.1 mile went at 9:28, an 8:37 pace, my watch said 1:58:27. The sub 2 was in the bank.
Subsequent analysis was encouraging. The overall pace was 9:03. While it is hard to be specific about negative splits without a measured midway point in a half marathon, I did figure this. The first 6 miles took me 54:51, or 9:09/mile. The next six miles took me 54:07, or 9:02/mile. The last 1.1 was at an 8:37 pace, so I’ll call it a negative split. I’ve never run a negative split before; I now know the appeal…what a rush. Not a single person passed me in the last 5 miles. My slowest mile was 9:19 and that included a quick trip to the porta-potty in mile 3. My quickest mile was #13 at 8:44.
Subjectively, I hit the elusive “sweet spot” of running in this race. I truly don’t think I could have run this race much faster. The entire effort was out there on the course; no regrets at all. I held the pace as hard as I felt I could for the entire distance. It felt under control…I was pushing it but not over the top. Scrapping the run/walk on race day worked just fine. The shoe change worked and I think had a role. While I felt my feet hurting a bit around mile 11, there seemed to be no damage afterwards. I have no idea when or if I’ll next find such a perfect combination of weather, course and preparation…so I’m glad I took advantage of it today.
I got a hot shower at my nephew’s house, four blocks from the finish line; it was also a treat to see his two sons, John and TJ, above. Gretchen and I then had a 2 hour lunch with old friends, did some shopping and had a marvelous day together in the city; she’s a gem.
Does it get much better? No, it doesn’t. Thanks for savoring a wonderful day with me.
Persevere. No matter what the day holds.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Boogity Boogity Boogity
ORN: 5 miles total, with 1 at 9:08 tempo
With apologies to NASCAR legend and announcer Darrell Waltrip, I’m using his catch phrase to celebrate getting to race again. It’s been a long winter and finally, Saturday, I get to run a race, the first since the Rocket City Marathon on December 6.
The Sam Costa Half Marathon kicks off the road racing season in central Indiana. It’s a smallish race of 200-300 with few frills and good organization. The weather is looking about perfect, projecting sunny skies and temps in the low to mid 40s. Shorts and long sleeves will work.
I’ll post a report over the weekend. It’s great to look forward to something besides just a long training run this weekend.
Persevere.
PS. Technical note: I've added a feature for email subscription to this blog...see the box on the left. If you don't like RSS or bookmarks, you can get these breathless, timeless, riveting, awe-inspiring blather via email.
Boogity Boogity Boogity!
Let’s go racin’, boys!
With apologies to NASCAR legend and announcer Darrell Waltrip, I’m using his catch phrase to celebrate getting to race again. It’s been a long winter and finally, Saturday, I get to run a race, the first since the Rocket City Marathon on December 6.
The Sam Costa Half Marathon kicks off the road racing season in central Indiana. It’s a smallish race of 200-300 with few frills and good organization. The weather is looking about perfect, projecting sunny skies and temps in the low to mid 40s. Shorts and long sleeves will work.
I’ll post a report over the weekend. It’s great to look forward to something besides just a long training run this weekend.
Persevere.
PS. Technical note: I've added a feature for email subscription to this blog...see the box on the left. If you don't like RSS or bookmarks, you can get these breathless, timeless, riveting, awe-inspiring blather via email.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Snowfall
ORN: 6.5 miles total; 5K time trial, 24:49, 8:02/mile
The schedule called for speed work this weekend, a 5K time trial at 25 minutes. We had no local races this weekend, so I did it by myself this afternoon.
After a 1.5 mile warm-up, I reset the Garmin “Training Assistant” for the target distance and time and took off. I was pleased to hold a consistent pace, with mile splits of 7:57, 8:03, 7:59 and 0:51(at 7:44 pace). I was surprised to discover myself running in snow; during mile one, it opened up and the white stuff was pelting me pretty hard. Easter doesn’t necessarily mean spring in Indiana. I was disappointed with my form; I felt like I was wearing clown shoes during the second half of the run. Myclodhopper motion-control shoes felt very heavy and clunky at the (very fast for me) 8:00 minute pace. Jed Clampett might have liked the form but most Kenyans would have averted their eyes. I did a gentle run back home and was pleased overall, since there are no style points in running.
The highpoint of the day came earlier, though, as our grandkids had spent the night. My wife, The Very Creative Grandma, set up an inside Easter egg hunt for the 4 year old twins first thing this morning. She hid the eggs, they searched, I took photos. Then the twins had an alternate idea; they would hide the eggs and she would find them. It was hilarious; as she started to look, each of them would direct her to the eggs each had hidden. “No, Grandma, over here!” and the excitement was palpable. The boys illustrated something beautifully human about needing to be found.
Miss B is 21 months old now and didn’t really get the whole egg hunt deal. But she didn’t need to; she and I just read books and enjoyed the morning. And face it, three little kids in fuzzy PJ’s is enough in and of itself.
We got the kids dressed for church and enjoyed a wonderful Easter together with the larger family later in the day. Easter is a marvelous day to remember what Christ did for the human race. I hope you had some opportunities for quiet reflection today.
Persevere, whether in clodhoppers or fuzzy PJ’s.
The schedule called for speed work this weekend, a 5K time trial at 25 minutes. We had no local races this weekend, so I did it by myself this afternoon.
After a 1.5 mile warm-up, I reset the Garmin “Training Assistant” for the target distance and time and took off. I was pleased to hold a consistent pace, with mile splits of 7:57, 8:03, 7:59 and 0:51(at 7:44 pace). I was surprised to discover myself running in snow; during mile one, it opened up and the white stuff was pelting me pretty hard. Easter doesn’t necessarily mean spring in Indiana. I was disappointed with my form; I felt like I was wearing clown shoes during the second half of the run. My
The highpoint of the day came earlier, though, as our grandkids had spent the night. My wife, The Very Creative Grandma, set up an inside Easter egg hunt for the 4 year old twins first thing this morning. She hid the eggs, they searched, I took photos. Then the twins had an alternate idea; they would hide the eggs and she would find them. It was hilarious; as she started to look, each of them would direct her to the eggs each had hidden. “No, Grandma, over here!” and the excitement was palpable. The boys illustrated something beautifully human about needing to be found.
Miss B is 21 months old now and didn’t really get the whole egg hunt deal. But she didn’t need to; she and I just read books and enjoyed the morning. And face it, three little kids in fuzzy PJ’s is enough in and of itself.
We got the kids dressed for church and enjoyed a wonderful Easter together with the larger family later in the day. Easter is a marvelous day to remember what Christ did for the human race. I hope you had some opportunities for quiet reflection today.
Persevere, whether in clodhoppers or fuzzy PJ’s.
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