Back to the Land of the Living

I found some humor in my "Time Hop" entry I saw the other day.  Time Hop is an app that looks back on social media at things that someone posted a year ago, two years ago, three or more years ago on that date.  Just over a year ago I posted a link to my blog entry, which discussed the changes at work, our move from Dublin Communications to the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center (NRECC).  I also wrote about the fact that I would be moving to third shift for 2014 because the days off would allow me to do more of the races I wanted to do this year.  I can't deny that I have been able to do a lot of races this year.  So far in 2014 I've added eight states to the number of out of state races I've run.  I was able to run races in Arizona, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.  A couple of those races were even ones that I was able to run as "last minute" registrations.  Six of those states were not races I had planned on running this year, but the timing worked out well.  I will add one more state in a couple of weeks when I travel to Monterey, CA for the Big Sur Half Marathon.  I'll travel to Florida the following week for year #2 of the Space Coast Half Marathon medal challenge.

But moving to night shift had another affect.  In September 2013 I ran the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in a personal best time of 1:57.  Less than a year later I ran the Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in 2:43.  Moving to nights, I've been eating things I shouldn't eat, not running as much as I should have been running and you can see what it did to my race times.

I have gotten a little better over the last couple of months.  Since August I've been teamed up with Brett through the IRun4 Sibling program.  Dedicating my runs to him and knowing that he and his family are cheering me on and following my running has helped me to refocus a bit.  I'm already starting to see the results of that focus.

The next step though is getting back to a normal schedule, or as normal a schedule as one can have when working in public safety.  So next year I will return to first shift.  Having Brett out there to dedicate my runs to, being back to a little bit better sleep pattern and eating pattern, and refocusing my running efforts should bring my race times back to where they were in 2013, or at least close to that.  

I'm glad that the increase in my race times didn't discourage me in my running and I'm glad that the races still continue to be fun.  I am very much looking forward to the two trips I have planned in November.  I get to travel back to Monterey, CA and see places I haven't seen in nearly 30 years as well as having the opportunity to see what all has changed out there in 30 years.  I will do some site seeing that I should have done 30 years ago, but didn't and I will add state #21 to my quest to run a race in all 50 states.  Then I'll head down to Florida.  I'll collect the second medal in the five year dedication to the Space Shuttle program, I'll visit the Kennedy Space Center, on the way back I'll stop and visit an Army buddy and his family in North Carolina and I'll enjoy a little break and some time away.

The week after I run the Space Coast Half Marathon I will be heading up to Cleveland for the Christmas Story 5K.  That race runs from downtown Cleveland to the Christmas Story House, complete with Leg Lamp in window!

The races and traveling will continue next year also.  In March I'm registered to run the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in Atlanta.  My IRun4 buddy Brett lives close to Atlanta, so I'll have the opportunity to finally meet him and his family in person.  Brett's mom has told him that he can take a day off school while I'm in town so that we have an opportunity to spend some time together and do some fun things around Atlanta.  That race will give me state #22.

State #23 will come in April when I run the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon.  2015 will mark the 20th anniversary of the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City where so many people, including 18 children, were killed.  The site of the building is now home to a Memorial and Museum and funds raised from the race help to support those.  Having had the opportunity to hear some first hand experiences from one of the public safety workers who was on duty that day, I'm interested to be in the area and see more of this tragic part of our history.

Tentatively, I also have plans to run races in Washington and Texas in 2015.  That, of course, may change, but that's my plan as of right now.  I've registered to run the Cap City Half Marathon here in Columbus in May, and I plan to go back to Florida in November, 2015 for year #3 in the Space Coast Marathon medal series.

Busy Running Season

Well, after a little bit of time with a few races scattered here and there, I'm entering in to a busy race season.  This morning I ran a race in western Maryland.  The Great Allegany 15K Run.  The first five miles of the race were all downhill, which made for a nice run.  In addition to that, the temperature was great!  A nice cool morning that never really heated up much, so it stayed comfortable for the entire run.  And if that wasn't enough, running through the mountains of western Maryland in early autumn made for some beautiful scenery!  The pictures I took with my cell phone on the way down the mountain didn't do justice to the beautiful fall colors that surrounded us on all sides.

Prior to the race I also took a trip on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  The train left from Cumberland, MD, where I was staying, and traveled up the mountain to Frostburg, MD.  There was a 90 minute layover for people to check out the town, then it headed back down the mountain and back to Cumberland.  Once again, I don't think my pictures did justice to the colors that I saw on the trip.

My taper starts this week in preparation for my next half marathon, but I will be running one more race between now and then.  On Saturday I'll be running the "Maria's Miles 3 Mile Race" here in Columbus.  Maria's Miles benefits the Maria Tiberi Foundation, which was started to bring awareness to the issues of distracted driving.  Last year, Maria Tiberi, the daughter of local sports anchor Dom Tiberi, was killed in an automobile accident when she ran in to the back of a semi truck that was stopped on the freeway.  The Tiberi's have since made it their mission to bring awareness to the dangers of distracted driving.

The following weekend is, of course, the Nationwide Children's Hospital Half Marathon.  My only goal/expectation for this race is that I do much better than I did in Virginia Beach.  I do plan to take a little more time to recognize all the children that are honored each mile and to recognize the children in the Angel's Mile.

Then, a few weeks later, I head out for the race that I'm looking forward to the most this year.  The Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey, CA.  As I've said before, this race will be more about the trip back to Monterey than it will be about the race.  However, the race will also give me an opportunity to see some of the area and remember the fun I had while I was stationed there nearly 30 years ago.

Two weeks after that I will travel down to Florida for my second year running the Space Coast Half Marathon, picking up my second medal from that series.  Because of all the travelling I've done I have been able to book my hotels for the Florida trip using my HHonors points, so I don't have to pay for my hotel rooms for that trip.

One week later I'll head up to Cleveland where I'll be running the Christmas Story 5K.  This run starts in downtown Cleveland and runs to the house used in The Christmas Story movie.  That house is now a museum dedicated to the movie.

With my run this morning, I have now run races in 20 different states.  California will make 21.  In March I'm scheduled to run the Georgia Half Marathon (#22) and in April the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon (#23).

My "quest for 50" went a lot further in 2014 than I expected it to.  Many of the new states I raced in this year were "last minute" races.  Times when I found myself with a free weekend, or the ability to get an extra day or two off for a long weekend and make the trip.  Now that I've pretty much raced in those states that are within a few hours drive from home, I expect that those new out of state races will have to be scheduled more in advance, and I really don't expect to knock out as many states in future years as I did in 2014.

Post by The Mito Life - Living Life As Zebras & Butterflies.