14 + 4 = 18

The plan was to do a solo 18 miler on Thursday night since I'm headed out of town for the Labor Day weekend. Nathan graciously volunteered to ride a bike alongside me. Since we didn't get started until about 6:45, I knew that we were going to quickly approach darkness...and we did. As I was running, I was formulating a plan for how to get this all done and wondering how late into the night I was really going to have to run. We ended up finding the 7-mile marker (there's no 7 on it, just a post, but timing was about right so I'm almost sure that its correct) which is right before the train tunnel. We ran through the train tunnel and then headed back. It was dusk at this point and the last 4 miles were in pitch black. At first, I think this makes you run faster, as you race to try to make it back before dark. But then it settles in that that is not possible and its a little disheartening. Also, the bug population decides to have a party right around dusk...the frogs also like to come out then. After we plunged into complete darkness they kind of went away, but that was after I had already had a full dinner of them, consumed both through my mouth and nose. Nathan decided the evening was "fun, except for the pain in the ass." I chugged a Gatorade back at the car and then we headed back to Ben Avon where Nathan prepped dinner and I did another 4 miles under the streetlights of town. The good thing about going late at night is that you get to go to bed when you're done!

Transferable Skills

I always knew that running had many life benefits that could be seen and used for other aspects of life. For example - time management, tenacity, mental toughness. Never did I think that my inability to maintain coordination (i.e. staying on my feet when I run) would reveal that child birth might not at all be so bad for me since I have developed a strong pain tolerance. (Thanks for that observation Megan!). I was proud that I was tearless after tripping on about a two inch raise in the sidewalk after trying to scare away the pigeon in my way while still sprinting after Amber. No clothes were damaged but I did survive with only three major strawberry wounds and a very stiff shoulder. Thankfully it was right around mile twelve of thirteen so Megan and I called it quits! Perfect for picture day of our last group run!

RATSq

http://www.runhigh.com/2007%20Results/2007%20Results%20A/R082507AB.html

After approximately a 7 minute, 10 minute, 7 minute split, I crossed the finish line and enjoyed the loads of goodies (or at least free trials...some were not so good) that were waiting for us. Beautiful day and a fun race in good company!

BYOT (Bring Your Own Towel)

Had a great afternoon swimming experience at the Baierl Y, except for the fact that I did not bring my own towel. Ended up using 6 washcloth-sized workout rags. They did offer me a towel from the lost and found, but I figured that the chances that it was clean were probably .1-.5%. I will know for next time!

Montour Trail

I didn't realize this, but the Montour Trail actually starts in Corapolis...not too far from my house. Would you guys want to start there and head to about the Imperial point and then turnaround and come back? Any of the access points seem fairly easy to get to, so if there was a particular section you wanted to do, I'm fine with that. I'd even be willing to push back the start time till 6 am, if you wanted to.

http://www.montourtrail.org/maps/access.html#Coraopolis

We'll pass four water fountains and toilets (really 8 since we're doing out and back)!

Pgh Trib article and random chatter

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_521085.html

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2058267

Trashcan Hurdles

Thursday mornings I meet up with the trashmen in Avalon and they have always left a string of trashcans in the middle of the sidewalks, so typically the 4th mile (or so) of my tempo run has some hurdles thrown into it...quite fun...I wonder if anyone is ever watching?

[Wish those big thunderstorms would have come through while I was running. They started right when I was ready to head out the door to work, so I decided to wait it out and get some things done from home instead of getting soaked on my way in. Alright...its off to the office now.]

100 Degree Range at the CMU Track: Running Hot & Cold

During yesterday's track workout (2 x (4 x 400)), I was pondering the fact that I may have now run on the CMU track in a whole range of 100 degrees. I looked back in the archives of the Crazy Daisies to see if I could find the temps for some of our frigid runs when we were training for the Nashville Marathon. If yesterday was 97 (which I don't think it actually was) and if January of 2005 was -3, I have it in the bag. I don't know that I really have the 100 degree range if you go by actual temps, but if you go with the "feels like temp" (ie windchill or taking humidity into consideration), I most definitely have it!

Here is a fun photo of a guy who ran barefoot on flowing lava...luckily he also had snow right next to him! This is on Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano located on the Italian island of Sicily.

PITTSBURGH MARATHON

I think I've found the two most important guys involved with the Pgh marathon and I've corresponded with BOTH of them over the past two days. They are just as excited about a potential marathon as we are.

I originally e-mailed Tom Rooney who has historically been responsive to any of my inquiries. He passed along Kevin Smith's contact info, who is the owner of Elite Runners in Robinson and said he would probably be able to fill me in.

I just got off the phone with Kevin and he is pumped up. There was just a meeting with the city this morning and he said he spoke with "the most credible person in the city" who said, "if he was a betting man (which he's not), he would bet on a spring 2008 Pittsburgh marathon."

At this point, the conversation is still very high level, though things will have to move quickly to happen in time. Kevin has begun initial planning for the course and he indicated that they will need 2,600 volunteers for water stops alone, with probably 4,000 total volunteers needed. He will be planning the expo beforehand and they are also trying to get approval for a half marathon leading up to the event. Tom's group is more in charge of lining up the sponsors for the event; he is a Rooney after all, so he knows the important people.

The best thing for us to do is sign up for Kevin's newsletter at eliterunners.com. He promised that he will send out an e-mail to everyone and then be screaming the news all over the city the moment he finds out its official.

I also know that I called at the right time on the right day because he warned me that if I attempted to print any of this he would deny that he spoke with me since its not official yet. Maybe I should make our blog non-public until its official...