Dan and Rob:  Congratulations to both of you on your achievements, Dan on your first marathon and Rob on your PR. 

We are home from Des Moines and Sunday's HM.  The weather could not have been better, sunny, upper 40s at the start, rising to the mid-50s at the end.  No tights today, just shorts, a short-sleeved top and arm warmers that I pushed down after about three miles.  As I had planned to do, I found and ran with the 2:20 pacer.  I think we started with about eight or 10 of us, several doing their first or second HM.  Our pace leader was excellent; she knew whether we were ahead or behind our goal time at the end of each mile and adjusted our pace accordingly. 

I don't think I have ever felt more in control in any of my previous HMs than I felt in this race.  We started at about a 10:25-10:35 pace and maintained it through the entire distance.   Because we started at a conservative pace, the first 7.5 miles were nonstop.  I carry a water bottle, so I drank and took gels on the run and did not have to stop for a refill and gels until the water stop between miles seven and eight.  That took only about 30 seconds and I was off again.  Our pacer slowed for water, but did not stop to walk.  I kept her in sight and gradually caught back up, no panic, just slowly reeled her back in.  At no time during the race did I feel so out of breath that I had to slow to a walking pace.

Miles four through eight of the HM course go through two parks in downtown Des Moines.  That middle part of the course is so scenic that it makes the miles go by quickly.  The parks both have lakes and I can see the faster runners ahead of me on the other side of the lake.

The first 26.2 runner passed us with a motorcycle escort somewhere in mile 10.  This happens every year.

The only time I fell farther behind was when I slowed at the beginning of mile 11.  Miles 11 and 12 have some slight rises as we approach and cross bridge spans.  At that point, they felt far steeper than they actually were.  Again, no panic, just maintaining a steady pace and accelerating as the road flattened out.  I caught up with about a mile to go.

The thirteenth mile is along King Drive in downtown Des Moines.  It's six lanes of concrete, flat as a board, and it seems to go on forever.  The only saving grace is that at the end of that mile is a left turn into the home stretch with the finish line visible in the distance.  The crowd is three or four deep on both sides of the street, necks craning to see relatives and friends.

Today there was no finishing kick, just a steady pace to the finish line.  Got my finishing medal from one volunteer and another cut off my timing chip.  Our pacer gave me her 2:20 sign as a souvenir.  Today was not a PR day, but I had a level of satisfaction that I have rarely felt. 

Goal time = 2:20:00.  Official finishing time = 2:19:55, good for 12th out of 25 in my 65-69 age group.

My son had already finished, although only 5-1/2 minutes ahead of me, and we met at our arranged spot in the downtown plaza.  He said the 2:10 pace group passed him and he was concerned that we might catch him too.  Three cartons of chocolate milk later, we headed home.  Our wives stayed home with our granddaughter.  She's still far too young to take out for several hours. Our daughter-in-law has restarted her triathlon training and may do an indoor tri in January.

I have said this before, but it bears repeating.  If you're looking for something to do in October in Iowa, come to Des Moines.  They know how to put on a race.

This was my fifth and last HM for the year.  I may not do five next year (especially the first three in the space of four weeks in May and June).  Although we stayed with family for four of them (the fifth was local) and therefore did not have hotel expense, we spent a lot on gas and entry fees.  Decisions, decisions.  Ask me again in February.

Honky Tonk Dells Marathon rr:  as many have said, the weather was ideal in many parts of the country for a race, and southcentral WI was no exception.  39 @ 0800 start, rising to upper 50's by my finish.   130 runners in full and 447 in HM, so I had company the first 6.5 until they turned around.  We started near one of the huge indoor/outdoor waterpark resorts just north of the Dells (Chula Vista for those who know the area) and headed south back to the main part of town.  Very scenic shaded area near Wi river that was almost all downhill for the first mile. I did take note of that!  second mile through town and across the WI River before we headed north along the river.  Since I haven't done many long races, I'm not sure how this compares, but there were quite a few hills.  Very good spacing of water/Gatorade/GU stops, with frequent porta potties.  I stopped several times because I wasn't sure how far till the next one.  being on a country road there weren't many flat spots so the first was tipped forward and could hardly get door open enough to squeeze in, the second tipped backward so if I lost my balance it could have tipped all the way!  lol

As I neared the 13.1 turn around I felt pretty good; DW met me there with more water and a hug!  Then after the turn I figured out why the first part might have been a little easier-I was now running into a significant breeze!  Darn.  There were several runners that I tended to lead then trail as I ran/walked my 1:1 ratio, we joked about seeing each other at the end.  Most of the way back I ran alone, but could see the one fellow about 300 yards ahead. 

The last 4-5 miles I had to increase my walking time, 2 reasons. I would tell my heart rate was really up there and didn't want to push it too soon, then I also began to have significant pain at the joint margin on the outside of each knee.  It got bad enough the last 2 miles I was really grimacing every time I started running again.  I passes several runners in the 24th mile and caught the man I'd been talking to with about 1.5 miles to go.  I suggested we just finish together so we ran/walked the last bit side by side and chatted.  I could not believe how great it was to see the 26 mile flag.  We picked it up and ran the rest of the way, and saw DW and DD and MIL waiting with cameras.   As we crossed the finish they announced each name and were handed the medal, a Honky Tonk Marathon belt buckle and cowboy hat!! 

We were so slow we missed the awards ceremony and after party with band. O well.  We celebrated by going to Culver's for a concrete shake!  better than the beer they had at the after party! 

finish time was 5:39:09, with split of 2:44:43 and 2:54:26.    When official report came out on the web site I was 125/130.  It's getting frustrating to always be near the bottom, but I have to remind myself that I'm in this primarily for health, not notoriety.  I told DW that this might be like childbirth, I'd have to forget the pain before I could think of running another.  But now, 2 days later, I think, sure, sometime.  Really no pain 2 days later, but stiff when I wake.

again, thanks to all for their tremendous support. So glad I found you all, friends!

Apprehensive look before race

The  back of shirt I had made for the race, posing with MIL, DD & her fiance'.

Big smiles at end of race, posing with my co-finisher.  Medals both backward, unfortunately!

Marie~A concrete shake is a Dairyland delight!  It is made with frozen custard, super thick, super creamy & super delicious!  

Dan~Thanks for taking us along on your journey.  Great RR and photos.

Steve~Well done!  Congrats on your 5th HM for the year.

MaryKay~WTG!  Very inspiring reading about pushing through to your finish.  Take care of that cold, and please take some time to recover and reflect on all you have accomplished this year.  You deserve it!

Welcome justamaniac, saundra! 

Great to hear from AZ, Rob!! 

Ran the Fall Classic 10k this past Sunday.  My older son ran the 5k.  Sunny, crisp autumn day.  Perfect for running!  The route was along a parkway and through a very hilly residential area. 10k was a double loop, so we ran the 4 hills twice!  I was hoping for a better time, but did take a minute off my last 10k.  Finished in 1:06:16.  We have a lot of excellent women runners( AG 55-59) in our area. Well, they certainly were not running in this race, because I came in 2/3 in my age group!  The first 2 runners in each AG received a nice dry-wick hat with the race oak leaf logo on it.  My son came in 1/13 in his AG, so we both enjoyed wearing our hats as we enjoyed a late breakfast.  Always a lot of fun running with one of my sons!

70 degree temps yesterday and today before the winds blow in more seasonal weather.  Looking forward to a run with younger son who is off from school, and a bike ride tomorrow.

Run strong, friends!

Steve great race report . Sounded like a good race.

MKay Way to go

Debra nice race. a minute is a lot to shave off of 10k time.

In regards to the concrete shake. You all have my mouth watering !!!!!

Dan~ Some good friends ran Fox Cities for their first HM in 2011and raved about it.  Enjoy training and running it with your son.  Both my boys are light-years faster than me, but they keep their ol' mom happy by running at least the first .5 mile at mom pace (aka slow)!   Have a wonderful visit to the Door.  Checked out the Fish Creek web-cam, and there is still a lot of color on the trees.  If you get a chance, drive Middle and Skyline roads in Peninsula State Park.  Stunning!

Tony~Take care with Hurricane Sandy approaching!  What event are you training for next?

Steve~Not sure I'll be able to run the Door HM in 2013 as my younger son has a school event the same weekend.  Wisconsin HM would be a great alternate, though.  Many folks from my church's running group run it each year.

Looking forward to a trail ride with my son this afternoon on the bike path along the river.  Run strong, friends

Debra-  Beautiful weekend here in DC.  Yesterday we drove the HM route through the park and I imagined doing that in May.  Looks challenging but beautiful.  Most of the leaves are down but the park is always great, no matter the season. 

Mary Kay-  thanks for the kudos.  It was easy to make the after picture better, just had to make sure it didn't happen as I crossed the finish line-those are never good.  The smile of being done felt good!

Finishing off my recovery week, plan to start slowly again this next week. 

Run strong and safe friends.

Just wanted to mention if you run with a touch screen phone, I wore running gloves this last race made of a synthetic material and they totally worked on my iPhone as well as the ones I have with special finger tips.

Mary Kay:  All those great food choices, but no cheese steak?  Maybe that comes afterwards.  Anyway, you will have a fun time, especially being with your daughter.

No running for me this past week, just some health club time and lots of leaf raking.  We don't have a big yard, but we do have two large maples. 

Anyone in Sandy's destructive path, please stay safe and evacuate if you haven't already done so.  The storm is blocking the eastward movement of our cool weather system, so we're sub-freezing at night and no more than 50 in the daytime until it moves out.