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

Gulf Coast Series FL, AL, MS, LA, TX - (states, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31)

Race:  Gulf Coast Series (with Mainly Marathons)
Location:  Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas
Bib: 127
Division: None
Weight:  191 lbs.
Times: FL=2:06:14, AL=2:56:33, MS=2:08:51, LA=2:10:04, TX=2:14:44

Distance Training:
01/25 - 13.1 miles in 01:52:04 minutes (8:33 pace, Treadmill) + 2.4 miles extra
01/20- 13.1 miles in 01:55:35 minutes (8:49 pace, Treadmill) + 0.4 miles extra
01/11 - 11 miles in 01:36:03  (8:44 pace, Treadmill)

Speed Training:
01/24 0.5 miles in: 03:37 (pace 7:13), 03:39 (pace 7:19), 03:42 (pace 7:24), 03:44 (pace 7:28) 

The Races
Weather:  Pensacola, and Alabama was sunny but cool. Ideal running conditions.   Mississippi was sunny, but windy (running half the time was against the wind).  Louisiana looked and felt like rain, but it held off.  Texas it was misty in the early morning, and then started to drizzle in the last 30 minutes of my race.  All in all - the weather was almost perfect. :)

How I felt:  I felt good all week.  Minimal limping and stiffness - and I enjoyed myself which meant I lowered by fasting to the minimum fasting 

What I enjoyed:  All the great southern foods.  Crawfish, BBQ, grits, etc ...