Minnesota / state number is 36

 This morning in Minnesota ends my running in the heartland series. With Minnesota my state number is 36 - leaving me with 14 states to complete.

Wisconsin. This is state number #35

 This morning I completed a half marathon in Wisconsin. This is state number 35 - with only 15 more to go! The weather yesterday was heavy rain and thunderstorms- but thanks God the rain held off this morning.

Iowa / state number 34

 Ran a half marathon in Iowa this morning. This race was also along side the Mississippi River. That’s state number 34 - with 16 states to go!

    

Illinois / state #33

This morning I ran a half marathon in Illinois along the Mississippi River. This was state #33, only 17 more.

Possibly Running Four of the Heartland Series: July 10-16, 2021

 

Heartland Series: July 10-16, 2021

Day 1 (Sat, July 10): Hicksville, Ohio 
Day 2 (Sun, July 11): Niles, Michigan

Day 3 (Mon, July 12): Portage, Indiana
Day 4 (Tue, July 13): Fulton, Illinois 
Day 5 (Wed, July 14): Clinton, Iowa
Day 6 (Thu, July 15): Sparta, Wisconsin
Day 7 (Fri, July 16): St. Cloud, Minnesota

was at 32 this will bring me up to 36, meaning I'll have 14 left. 

Kentucky (State # 32)

Last year in February I did a series, and little did I know these would be the last races for over a year.   This was my first race since the Covid-19 restrictions.  I was able to get one of my vaccine shots three weeks ago - so I was comfortable traveling.  I stayed in the Radisson Hotel near the Nashville airport and drive up to Bowling Green Kentucky for the race.   Left the hotel, and arrived a good hour early.  Turned in my wavier and had my temperature checked.  At the starting line, I met a couple people.  One girl from Texas - which was only trying to complete the half marathon and the other was a gentleman around my age, which had a similar story of weighing 260 lbs when he was 48 year old when he started running a half marathon and been doing it ever since.   The race was to begin at 8 AM - but because of lighting, they delayed the race 30 minutes.   I was all ready for a downpour having an emergency poncho in my pocket, but I never had to use it.   The temperature was chilly (52 degrees) before we started, but after a mile, I was quite warm.   We were supposed to be grouped in Pods, which would be sent out one by one, but because of the concern of the storm - they did not do this.  The first half of the race was relatively flat, and I was running close to a 2-hour half-marathon pace - and then the second half hit, and the hills were tough - and I had to slow down and ended up with a 2 hour, 14 minute time.  I was surprised that I ranked third place for my age group - which was cool (but the main reason was not my speed - but the size of the race).  

Slideshow of 31 races

Kentucky (State # 32) Training Plan

 

Week	Dates	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs	Fri.	Sat.
1	Jan 25-30	2 m run	Cross Training	2 m run	Rest	2 m run	7 m run
2	Jan 21-Feb 6	3 m run	Cross Training	3 m run	Rest	3 m run	7.5 m run
3	Feb 7-13	4 m run	Cross Training	5 m run	Rest	4 m run	8 m run
4	Feb 4-20	5 m run	Cross Training	6 m run	Rest	4 m run	8.5 m run
5	Feb 21-27	6 m run	Cross Training	6 m run	Rest	5 m run	9.25 m run
6	Feb 28-Mar 6	6 m run	Cross Training	7 m run	Rest	5 m run	10 m run
7	Mar 7-13	7 m run	Cross Training	7 m run	Rest	6 m run	10.5 m run
8	Mar 14-20	7 m run	Cross Training	8 m run	Rest	6 m run	11 m run
9	Mar 21-27	7 m run	Cross Training	5 m run	Rest	Rest	1/2 m Race!

Sunday:  The Christian Sabbath.  The good book says "for those who honor me I will honor".  

Monday:  Start of the week, run at an easy pace.  However easy pace does not mean poor posture.  

Tuesday:  Cross-training, meaning weightlifting, biking, elliptical training, or swimming for 35 minutes. 

Wednesday:  Pick up the pace (may want to time yourself), mind your posture, end strong.   

Thursday:   Rest your legs.  Check your feet for callous - perhaps use moisturizer if needed.  

Friday:  Easy-paced run - save your strength for Saturday.  Make every step count - good forum matters. 

Saturday:  Run a long run at 10% slower than your race-day speed.   Run hard - but don't hurt yourself.    

Target Pace For Race:  8:30 per mile or 7 miles per hour.   (10% slower is 6.4 mph)

Starting weight:  205.5 lbs
Ending weight:  ___ lbs

Target weight: 192 lbs