Nothing else better to do than run.

The weather was perfect for the marathon. Low 50's with almost no breeze which is perfect for any marathon in my book. I could not believe how many people were participating in the event this year. The organizers listed the count above 20,000 runners which is pretty unbelievable. It took me over 10 minutes to cross the starting line and I was still crawling for several miles after that trying to get into the flow. I believe the Race is similar to New York that it is more for the enjoyment than trying to get a good time.

 It was my second slowest marathon of the year. I can think of a bunch of excuses but I think it comes down to carrying too much weight and not getting enough sleep. Those are some things that I have control over so I am starting my New Year's resolution several weeks early. Next year, I want to have a good year.

 But even with the disappointment of not finishing with a great time it was nice to be with my family and to be able to participate in a marathon. I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the race. Along with my great friends, running marathons keeps me getting up in the morning and lacing up the ole' shoes. 

Man was it cold this morning, it was almost painful! Had a really nice run with the group which was nice because it has been a long time. Visited Kelli, Scott, Peggy and others. It is so nice to have a group to run with. Also went for a run at lunch which was surreal because of all the snow covered roads and branches. It was really quite a nice afternoon.

Nice and slow afternoon run. Most of the snow and ice has melted off of the sidewalks and roads so I just relaxed and ran. This evening I need to do some serious stretching because my legs are a bit tight. Need to loosen them up so I can run with the group tomorrow.

Met up with the running group at 5:15 this morning to run the Parkway Palasades. It was pretty cold starting out but once we started moving things improved. Several miles on the parkway trail and then we hit the hills. I really enjoyed the hills but man are my legs tired and after about 6 and a half and called it a day.

Got up early this morning and met some friends this morning for a run. It was a great but tough workout. 5 miles uphill into the wind and then coming back was great because it was downhill with the wind pushing. We finished just as the wind really picked up and the snow starting falling sideways. Very invigorating to say the least. This afternoon I went out and shoveled the snow and then put in 2.5 miles by running around the neighborhood on the newly fresh fallen snow. I thought I better enjoy it before the novelty of snow wears off because that happens all to quickly.