168 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...
18.2 miles in 2 hrs 52 minutes - total distance and running time for Saturday morning.
Our first 90 minute leg started at 4:32 am - we had five runners, more than I was expecting today. Aaron Maurer, Katie Gaffney, Chad Uhde, Rick Fountain, and myself. I was under the impression that a few of these people had prior commitments and wouldn't be able to make it so it was a pleasant surprise when the additional cars pulled up to my house.
I'm not sure how many people find much joy in getting up at 4 a.m. followed by running many miles but this group of people makes it fun. Five minutes into the run I am always so glad to be on the road with this bunch. Parts of the path were a bit icy but not too bad. We always start off a little slow - it takes the body a little distance before it gets warmed up. Once we get moving, we pick up the pace quite nicely and usually finish with a negative split on the trip back. The first leg of the run was a a 9 mile run through parts of Bettendorf and on the bike path.
At 5:58 am we arrived back at my house expecting to find two more people who said they planned to be there. Given the snow Friday and the relatively cold weather I wouldn't have been surprised if people had changed my mind. Little did I know that there would be 4 people awaiting our arrival - WOW! This has never happened before. Since we didn't lose any runners for the second leg, we actually had 9 runners leaving my house at 6 am. The street looked like I had an overnight party with all the cars parked out front of my house. The five who started chose to continue on and we picked up four new runners (Brian Tritt, Curt Johnston, Phil Pancrazio, and John O'Brien). This 9.2 mile leg took us out through northeast Bettendorf and north past Interstate 80. In the past we had made it within about 1/4 mile of reaching an east-west street called Indiana Avenue. I've always wanted to show this to Aaron Maurer since he was raised in this state. Today was the day. For some reason when we took off from my house we were running at a faster pace than normal and were able to reach Indiana Ave - and in less time than we normally run in that direction. We reached Indiana Ave in 42 minutes - surprising to me since we haven't reached it in the past running for 45 minutes. Part of the reason might have been due to the wind that seemed to be at our backs on the way out. This was the same wind hitting us in the face on the way back :o)
I must say that I've enjoyed running in groups of 2-6 but there is something powerful that occurs as the group grows in size. We have never run in a group of 9 before - it was awesome!
All in all, a very good day - another one to feel good about. Playing basketball tomorrow so I'll be taking Monday off.
Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!
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| Indiana Ave - 1/4 mile north of I-80 and Middle Rd - Bettendorf, IA from left to right - Phil Pancrazio, Chad Uhde, John O'Brien, Brian Tritt, Katie Gaffney, Aaron Maurer, Rick Fountain, and Curt Johnston - John Byrne (photographer) |
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| Just north of the I-80 and Middle Rd exit. Group debating on the Big Question - whether to run to Chicago or Des Moines? from left to right...Brian Tritt, Curt Johnston, Rick Fountain, Katie Gaffney, John O'Brien, Aaron Maurer, Chad Uhde, Phil Pancrazio - John Byrne (photographer) |
18.2 miles in 2 hrs 52 minutes - total distance and running time for Saturday morning.
Our first 90 minute leg started at 4:32 am - we had five runners, more than I was expecting today. Aaron Maurer, Katie Gaffney, Chad Uhde, Rick Fountain, and myself. I was under the impression that a few of these people had prior commitments and wouldn't be able to make it so it was a pleasant surprise when the additional cars pulled up to my house.
I'm not sure how many people find much joy in getting up at 4 a.m. followed by running many miles but this group of people makes it fun. Five minutes into the run I am always so glad to be on the road with this bunch. Parts of the path were a bit icy but not too bad. We always start off a little slow - it takes the body a little distance before it gets warmed up. Once we get moving, we pick up the pace quite nicely and usually finish with a negative split on the trip back. The first leg of the run was a a 9 mile run through parts of Bettendorf and on the bike path.
At 5:58 am we arrived back at my house expecting to find two more people who said they planned to be there. Given the snow Friday and the relatively cold weather I wouldn't have been surprised if people had changed my mind. Little did I know that there would be 4 people awaiting our arrival - WOW! This has never happened before. Since we didn't lose any runners for the second leg, we actually had 9 runners leaving my house at 6 am. The street looked like I had an overnight party with all the cars parked out front of my house. The five who started chose to continue on and we picked up four new runners (Brian Tritt, Curt Johnston, Phil Pancrazio, and John O'Brien). This 9.2 mile leg took us out through northeast Bettendorf and north past Interstate 80. In the past we had made it within about 1/4 mile of reaching an east-west street called Indiana Avenue. I've always wanted to show this to Aaron Maurer since he was raised in this state. Today was the day. For some reason when we took off from my house we were running at a faster pace than normal and were able to reach Indiana Ave - and in less time than we normally run in that direction. We reached Indiana Ave in 42 minutes - surprising to me since we haven't reached it in the past running for 45 minutes. Part of the reason might have been due to the wind that seemed to be at our backs on the way out. This was the same wind hitting us in the face on the way back :o)
I must say that I've enjoyed running in groups of 2-6 but there is something powerful that occurs as the group grows in size. We have never run in a group of 9 before - it was awesome!
All in all, a very good day - another one to feel good about. Playing basketball tomorrow so I'll be taking Monday off.
Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!
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