The 2008 Davis Stampede is a thing of the past, but the pain in my legs will certainly be sticking around for a while. Ugh!
But it’s a good kind of pain, the kind of pain you can actually be proud to suffer from – along with the hundreds of poor souls who crossed the finish line today. Poor soles indeed.
Anyhow, after obsessing over the race for weeks, we avoided bad weather altogether. The day was bright, cool and full of good vibes. My goal was to come in under 2 hours and Lo! Check the numbers, baby… 30 seconds to spare! Honestly I surprised myself big time. After mile 9 I had to ask someone if my legs were still attached because I couldn’t feel them anymore.
Rebecca took some snaps of the before and after. See below. Thanks to Liam, Courtney, Jeff & Amy for stopping by to see just how sweaty I was. Next stop, Portland Oregon Marathon??? Maybe after I find my quadriceps.
Until the next one, this is RunningForNow signing off… I’ll be back!
~ Jeff
The beginning. Bright eyed and bushy tailed.
And they’re off! Well, sort of. The first leg through town was really crowded.
See how quick that was?? I managed to find a wormhole along the way and shaved off 30 seconds from the time-space continuum. Under 2 hours!!
Instant replay in case you missed it. No, I didn’t photoshop the numbers.
Agony of da feet. (it had to be said!) Bend, crouch, squat… die.
Well, it’s just about that time. Tomorrow the Davis Stampede is on! The weather promises to be cold, wet and overcast, but with any luck it’ll just be cold. Thanks to all those who have visited this blog over the past few months. I’ll be sure to post results and some pics, maybe even a video. See you at the finish line. If I’m anywhere near my goal for time you should see me around 10:10 am.
Special thanks to Amy Kasameyer for helping me keep my pants on. Nice sewing job, Amy
Half marathon (13.1 miles) starts at 8:10 am sharp.
Figured it was time to get some new sneaks for the upcoming Davis Stampede. The guy at Fleet Feet hooked me up with the New Balance 882. What’s cool is that they even look like they’re moving just sitting on the floor.
I must admit, for $95 I definitely feel like I got my money’s worth. They are super cushy, wide in the front and offer a decent amount of stability.
Legs are sore and as I sit here typing my back is twinging a bit, but it felt good and I finished without much fatigue. Rebecca saw me doing one last loop around the track and came out to tie a finish ribbon at the fence. Made me laugh.
If all goes well and I manage to push myself at the Davis Stampede, I think I can manage to run the 1/2 Marathon in under 2 hours.
It felt like I was losing steam these past few weeks, with the holidays and all. Not sure my half-marathon training is anything to write home about. (so I’ll just write to my blog about it)
I have mapped out one of the runs I’ve been doing quite a bit these days and it came up as 5 miles. I’m hoping to get out for a longer run this weekend. I’d like to see about a 10 mile loop somewhere. If I can run that with a strong finish I’ll be feeling better about the Davis Stampede come Feb. 3rd.
Thing is, I know I can run a half-marathon and make it to the finish line alive. It’s my time that will be lagging behind. Still, I started this blog to track my progress “beating the pavement… racking my brain” NOT to win awards or beat personal bests – or outdo others. It’s about getting out-doing something, right?
I finally had the combination of time, energy and determination to hit the road for a long run today. Not sure what my time was, but Google Earth tells me I ran 8.5 miles, or 13.76 kilometers. The weather was nice and gloomy which made for a cool run.
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve Eve (is that a holiday too?) then it’s countdown to 2008.
