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.
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.
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