134 days until the 2012 Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run...
The main thing missing on this run was Aaron Maurer. Good for him as we know he was enjoying the Easter weekend with his family in Wisconsin. Aaron is THE reason these Saturday runs have exploded in terms of numbers - it has been pretty awesome. Even though he wasn't going to be here this weekend, he wanted to make sure to get the word out to everyone else. http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/ Everyone knows how committed Aaron is to his training and he is a really talented athlete; however, I think he has a bigger purpose - motivating others to improve themselves. I've been a beneficiary of his mission to get people together who are making positive strides to better themselves and improve their self esteem. Therefore I decree Saturday, April 7, 2012 to be Aaron Maurer Day - instead of giving him a key to the city we'll probably give him a used spike from an old track shoe - Katie or Jane, can you help me out on this one?
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/81679553 - 9.5 miles
We had a very good run - did 9.5 miles in roughly 1 hr 20 minutes - ran out north of I-80 and almost to Wells Ferry Rd. that goes north to McCausland. As you can see, only 2 of the group were smart enough to wear something reflective - a good idea when running in the dark. Having a group of 6 at 4:30 am is quite wonderful - may be the largest group to date at this time of the morning. Everyone in this group chose to start the 2nd loop too. As we were coming back to base I couldn't believe the number of cars and people I saw waiting for us - it was energizing! That was a nice boost to have, especially since we had just completed 9.5 miles. As we were coming in, a little tired and a lot sweaty, a group of 12 new runners was awaiting us - buzzing with chatter and shivering a bit - it is cold when you are standing around waiting for others.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/81680943 - 9.6 miles
The 2nd leg was great as well. A funny thing happened on the way to the bike path..... I was running on the inside of the sidewalk and had brushed up against some tree branches. Eventually a branch caught me just right on my right shoulder and ripped a hugh hole on the side and back of my shoulder! it made for some nice laughs and conversation. I didn't mind too much, except it was a Notre Dame long sleeved shirt - and I love my Notre Dame clothes! http://www.und.com/ The branch scraped my shoulder but nothing serious. For some reason, even though I had mittens, my hands were freezing from holding my bottles. Chad Uhde and Jen Paul were gracious enough to carry my water and gatorade bottles for a bit until my hands warmed up again - thank you, you two! With this large a group it is more difficult to stay together so a few groups moving at different paces develop. This leg took closer to 1 hr 30 minutes for the group I was running with but there were some who finished earlier and they were actually gone before I made it back to say good-bye. So I'll say it here "Good-bye" :o)
I did not take a picture for the 3rd leg - wish I had :o( I believe we had 6 little Indians left. A little into the run I started running a pace with Michelle Russell and John O'Brien - it felt like we were moving quite fast (maybe some of that had to do with the fact that I had already run about 19 miles). Anyway, John's Garmin reported that we ran our last 5 miles at approximately a 7:30 mile pace. I was very pleased and it felt really good!
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/81681475 - 5.1 miles
I have a feeling that our future group runs on Saturday mornings will not drop below 15. Many of the newcomers seem to be members of the LiveUncommon organization - and they are the nicest people you would ever want to meet. http://www.liveuncommon.org/ I'm already finding that I'm looking forward to the next run with this group of people :o)
Happy Easter -I'm very grateful and humbled when I reflect on the suffering Christ endured on the cross - for us. Hopefully we live our lives in a way that honors Him.
Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!
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| Aaron Maurer Day - sorry he couldn't be there to enjoy it :o) Saturday morning crew 6 a.m. (Leg 2 of 3 leg run) - GREAT group of people - too many - I don't know everyone's names :o( - John Byrne photographer using Jen Paul's camera :o) |
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| The 4:30 am crew - Tom Waterman, Rick Fountain, Curt Johnston, Katie Gaffney, Chad Uhde - John Byrne photographer |
We had a very good run - did 9.5 miles in roughly 1 hr 20 minutes - ran out north of I-80 and almost to Wells Ferry Rd. that goes north to McCausland. As you can see, only 2 of the group were smart enough to wear something reflective - a good idea when running in the dark. Having a group of 6 at 4:30 am is quite wonderful - may be the largest group to date at this time of the morning. Everyone in this group chose to start the 2nd loop too. As we were coming back to base I couldn't believe the number of cars and people I saw waiting for us - it was energizing! That was a nice boost to have, especially since we had just completed 9.5 miles. As we were coming in, a little tired and a lot sweaty, a group of 12 new runners was awaiting us - buzzing with chatter and shivering a bit - it is cold when you are standing around waiting for others.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/81680943 - 9.6 miles
The 2nd leg was great as well. A funny thing happened on the way to the bike path..... I was running on the inside of the sidewalk and had brushed up against some tree branches. Eventually a branch caught me just right on my right shoulder and ripped a hugh hole on the side and back of my shoulder! it made for some nice laughs and conversation. I didn't mind too much, except it was a Notre Dame long sleeved shirt - and I love my Notre Dame clothes! http://www.und.com/ The branch scraped my shoulder but nothing serious. For some reason, even though I had mittens, my hands were freezing from holding my bottles. Chad Uhde and Jen Paul were gracious enough to carry my water and gatorade bottles for a bit until my hands warmed up again - thank you, you two! With this large a group it is more difficult to stay together so a few groups moving at different paces develop. This leg took closer to 1 hr 30 minutes for the group I was running with but there were some who finished earlier and they were actually gone before I made it back to say good-bye. So I'll say it here "Good-bye" :o)
I did not take a picture for the 3rd leg - wish I had :o( I believe we had 6 little Indians left. A little into the run I started running a pace with Michelle Russell and John O'Brien - it felt like we were moving quite fast (maybe some of that had to do with the fact that I had already run about 19 miles). Anyway, John's Garmin reported that we ran our last 5 miles at approximately a 7:30 mile pace. I was very pleased and it felt really good!
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/81681475 - 5.1 miles
I have a feeling that our future group runs on Saturday mornings will not drop below 15. Many of the newcomers seem to be members of the LiveUncommon organization - and they are the nicest people you would ever want to meet. http://www.liveuncommon.org/ I'm already finding that I'm looking forward to the next run with this group of people :o)
Happy Easter -I'm very grateful and humbled when I reflect on the suffering Christ endured on the cross - for us. Hopefully we live our lives in a way that honors Him.
Until my next post, have a great day! DIG DEEP!
6 comments:
Great run on Saturday, and I agree with you Aaron is a big motivation and inspiration. Watch out for those trees and see you next Satruday.
Thanks Josiah. LOL on the trees!
I heard the turnout was amazing. I appreciate your kind words. It is always easy to organize these runs when I am surrounded by the greatness of the people who show up weekly. Byrne, the motivation is a constant circle as you were a big source of my motivation to get started with my goals and still am throughout my training so I am glad to offer inspiration in return. Hope that tree is okay that you tackled!!!
We put a call into the local dendrologist who will conduct an assessment on the tree. Glad you had a great weekend!
Great blog, John. You've got a lot of support through this journey ... DIG DEEP!
Thanks Boobie. You are absolutely right. Other people make all the difference in the world - especially when you are running for hours :o)
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