4 day weekend

If Judi knoew how much Peanutbutter Jimmy and I ate while she was in Deleware we would both be in big trouble

Wow!

I think if every weekend was four days long I might just, as my Granny used to say, wear myself down to a nub… 

The crew

the ugly shirt

Thursday:

We all did the local Turkey Trot…  specifically…  I did the Subaru Distance Classic ½ Marathon while my kids, along with my oldest daughter’s boyfriend did the 6K.

I knew that I just didn’t have the speed in my legs that I had last year http://allaboutpace.blogspot.com/2010/11/race-report-outback-12-marathon-2010.html

With that knowledge I had a bit of a hard time motivating myself….  I’d probably have skipped the race had it not been for the kids and the tradition…  Since I love them both…  my kids and the fact that a couple of teenage girls would want to get up on Thanksgiving morning to go do a race with their old dad…  we signed up and got the T-shirt.

Just after the national anthem (man I have a real hard time with folks who mill about while our anthem is being played) I tossed my shirt over a tree branch and started to slip up the line as close to the front as I could get…  I didn’t get too far before the cannon boomed…

The race itself was, for me, more like a tempo run…  I tried to stay relaxed in the early miles…  with the plan being to turn it up a notch and finish strong…  which is the exact opposite of the way I tend to race.  The plan worked…  nice and smooth for the first handful of miles… knocking off 7:4x…  funny thing tho….  As I tried to pick up the pace…  I began to tire…  my head said go 7:30 pace…  my legs said 8…  we compromised at 7:45.

End result was a 1:42 half…  no too bad.

Even passed a guy in one of the ugly race shirts in the final turn.

Looking like a cooked turkey

After the race we drove home and packed the car for our trip to Grandma’s house…  our part was Broccoli casserole that I cooked the night before and frying the turkey (yes we fry everything here in the South)

 

Once packed I hopped on my mountain bike and rode the 16 miles over to their house…  my daughter followed later in the car.  I had the rare experience of a whole ride with a tailwind and made it there in less than an hour…  even with tired legs.



Friday:

Rode 45 or so…  about half of which with one of the local groups… 

Saturday:

I got to Hannah Park about the time they opened the gate and 2 hours later I had ridden most of the trails there crashed 5 times including one endo! And run 3 miles.

In the woods

At noon we picked up Judi from the airport (the highlight of the weekend)

Sunday: (long run day)

Got a bit of a late start but as Judi put it:

 

“I have 20 miles in my brain and that’s what I want to do”

in action self portrait

So we ran…  From Jax beach…  South to Mickler’s landing in St Johns County…  back north through Sawgrass…  then North for a couple of miles…  and finally a quick out and back to even it off at 20.  Not pretty but well done.  Judi had cramping issues but fought through like a champ.

Monday:

I’m kinda happy to be sitting back at my desk