30 miles on a heavy hybrid

Yesterday was a cross training day for me and I've been getting a little tired of being in the gym so I decided to head out on a bike ride. I don't really have a great road bike, mind you. I have a heavy hybrid commuter bike made by some no-name company. Its got a rack and front shocks and all kinds of things that have no business being on a long road ride. But hey, the weather was nice and I wanted to see how far I could take River Road here in Louisville. Turns out, you can take it all the way to Oldham County for a 30 mile round trip. And the ride on River Road is beautiful, right next to the Ohio River and through some very nice parks. Check it out:

Mile 6 Dedication: Gracie

Mile six is dedicated to Gracie who gives much joy every day to her owner, Julie Walz. Here's Gracie sitting pretty and being very well behaved for a picture:

Thank you Julie and Gracie!

Mile 18 Dedication: In Memory of Francia Barksdale

Francia Barksdale was someone whose influence on those around her was already obvious before her passing this year, but now is even more apparent as three separate donations have been given on her behalf. She was certainly well loved by all those around her. From the donors:

Mile 18 has been sponsored by Audrey Egan and Priscilla & Christopher Flanagan in memory of a friend who passed away from brain cancer last month. Francia Barksdale worked as a gifted education specialist in Nashua, NH and founded an award-winning program for gifted students. Francia was also a talented artist, avid reader, and loyal friend.

Francia's former colleagues have said that she always went the "extra mile" for her students, and I will be proud to run mile 18 in her memory. That is typically when I "hit the wall" and feel like stopping, so I will remember Francia's determination to do right even in the face of adversity.

Louisville Exploration Run + Sweet New Running Stuff

This morning's run was an 8 mile semi-planned jaunt through the the industrial areas of Smoketown and Butchertown. My purpose was twofold: to see parts of the city I haven't seen yet, and to try and find places for my running club to meet and run from (we have some silly traditions that involve loud singing that isn't acceptable in most residential areas). So that explains all the offshoots from the main course, as shown below:

There is a lot of land out there just fenced up and going un-used. I hope it gets re-developed in the future...there's no need for urban sprawl when we have all that open space right near downtown.

The other big news today is that I got my running singlet and arm bands from North Shore Animal League! Check it out:

I will totally be rocking the bracelet wherever I go now, and the singlet will get LOTS of use even before race day. I hope the printing makes it through all the washing I'll be doing to it.

And finally, to go with the other awesome new stuff today, I replaced my worn out Mizuno Wave Precision shoes with the brand new model. Behold them in their post-run glory:

Selling my body to the Internet

So it has come to this. With about six weeks left to go before the fundraising deadline, I have been forced to sell my body to the Internet. Well, kind of.

Since hauling my body 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City will be a full-body activity, I am selling sponsorship of each of my major body parts! You can sponsor my upper back for $25, or both feet for $50. In fact, here is a guide I made for specific body-part sponsorship:

If you'd like help my reach my $3,000 fundraising requirement in this way, simply include in the information line which body part(s) you are sponsoring when you donate.

PS: All body parts not offered for sponsorship are already being sponsored by my wife ;)

16 Miles of Unexpected Ups and Downs

After taking a much needed rest day yesterday (forced upon me due to my running watch having dead batteries), I got up at 5am this morning to beat the heat and run the longest distance yet in my training: 16 miles. The plan was to run out to Iroquois Park ~5 miles south of the house, run 3 miles of the loop, then reverse course and run home. There is a water fountain out there, and I figured on my way back I could stop in a corner store and get more water. Also, I expected a nice smooth uphill climb out, then downhill on the way home. Much like this elevation chart produced by MapMyRun.com:

Instead, here is the actual elevation chart as recorded by my GPS watch:

Not smooth at all. I suppose this is what I get for not having driven the course first, but hey, I'm still getting used to this city. And as such, I had no idea that most corner stores did not open until 9am at the earliest. So on the 5 miles back home I was really struggling for some water, or Gatorade, or even a soda. But nothing was open! I finally came upon a water fountain near UofL, and wouldn't you know it, it didn't work. I did eventually make it back home, very hot and dehydrated, and proceeded to drink and entire gallon of Gatorade. I'll likely spend the rest of my day with my legs propped up to prevent swelling and a constant supply of ice water to drink.

But, at least its done. And next week's long run is only one more mile than this. With better planning, I think that one will be quite manageable.

Athletes...athletes everywhere.

This morning's run was 8 miles at projected marathon race pace, which isn't too bad because I did 10 miles last week below race pace. But I'm following this with 16 miles (gulp) tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure I didn't overdo it.

My plan was to run down to the Ohio River, then east along the river trail until I hit 4 miles, then double back. Well, as I neared the water I started seeing athletes. They were running, or biking on very nice bikes, and some of them were walking in their swimsuits still dripping water. It all became clear to me when I got the the waterfront park: thousands of triathletes were prepping for Ironman Louisville tomorrow. I took a picture of some of them getting used to swimming in the Ohio. Apparently, its a lot cleaner than it used to be.

Usually when I go run down by the river, I see 3-5 other runners out. This time, I must have seen hundreds. All kinds of triathletes doing the last runs of their taper period so they can be loose for tomorrow's Ironman race. All in all, it was really motivating. Tomorrow they will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and THEN run a full marathon. I'm nervous enough about just doing the marathon, much less all that before it! But it was definitely good energy for my run and tomorrow I'll be thinking about them while I'm doing my 16 miles. They will still be swimming or biking while I'm running as those two events will take up their entire morning, but after my run in the morning I think I'll walk a few blocks over to the marathon course and cheer them on some.