The Race That Never Was? Eagle Fun Run 5/10K and Some Thoughts Before The Lincoln Marathon

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It was only fitting, that on the eve of the Lincoln Marathon, I receive a package in the mail.  It was from the organizers of the 3rd Annual Eagle Fun Run that contained the race t-shirt and my numbers from the race.  The race was two weeks ago and had been on my calendar as a prep race for Lincoln, but it was very cold and windy that day and for the first time ever, I opted to stay home instead of run.  It felt kind of strange to not show that day, but none the less, I missed it.

I did make it up the next day with a 14.5 mile run by my self (which at points I hate more than anything) and ended up running 5 more than was on my schedule.  It’s all history now, but it was a difficult weekend back then.

I’m still not really sure why, but this small town race holds a special place in my heart.  While I ran it last year and set a new 10K PR, the small town feel and the friendliness of the folks working it really made an impression on me.  I really thought that after missing the entire race, my shirt would get given to someone else and that would be that!  Not so.  To the race director – Thank for making the special effort to mail it out to me when you didn’t have to.  You can rest assured that I will be signing up for the 4th Annual Eagle Fun Run in 2012!  In a era of sold out mega-events, no waiting lists, no returns, no race day registration and no switching bibs, this was a breath of fresh air!  Congratulations.  You have a runner for life!

Miles per month since December 2010

 

Tomorrow morning sets me up against the elusive sub 4 hour mark for the completed marathon.  3 times I have attempted it (Kansas City 2009, Lincoln/Omaha 2010) and 3 times I have fallen short.  My finish in Omaha is my best so far at [4:19].  I have trained more, ran harder, lost weight, put in the extra time and done everything I could do to put myself in a position to get there (see my training plan below – click to enlarge).  [3:59:59] is staring me right in the face.  The journey begins tomorrow, 7:00am CT.  If you want to follow me on line as I run, use this link: http://www.mtectracking.com/Mtrack?raceid=21  I am bib 1288.

The Training Calendar since January

 

Many thanks to my trainer Ryan Wolf and my running trainer Jamie Eikmeier for the endless hours of commitment and dedication it took to get me this far.  Also a big thanks to Carrie Adams who ran many of those miles recorded above with me, including the logging of well over 50 in just 3 runs in the month of April!  To guys like Jeff Wilbur, David Seevers, Ed Muller and Dave Cihal (Ed and Dave are both running their first marathon tomorrow!) who encouraged me on a daily basis and kept me honest!

Also a big thanks to Sarah, who has supported me the entire way!  She doesn’t get grumpy when I wake her up at 5:30am on a Saturday asking for my running gear.  She has been an tremendous support to me in every phase.  She even puts up with me when I complain about how sore I am all the time!  Thanks Sarah Jane!

More tomorrow, and hopefully an hour with a 3 in it!