Reinvigorated

First, I need to offer up congratulations to some serious game-time performers today in the Philadelphia Marathon.

Here is a shout out of "WAY TO GO!" to my good friends Aaron and Steve who both put up BQ times today at Philly. Aaron put up his first BQ with a 3:10:52 with Steve shouting at him the final several miles to finish right along side him. Steve came back from a blown out knee in early 2007 and a disappointing DNF in Chicago to get back to the Big Dance in April. Great job, guys!

Also, I want to give an applause-laden congrats to Wayne for crushing his former PR of 3:09 to lay down a ... (SHAZAM!)... mind-boggling 2:55 today in Philly. Simply amazing!

You guys have me re-inspired.

We arrived back from our journey to Las Vegas last night. I stayed with my parents for a couple of days in St George, Utah while Jen attended a conference at the Las Vegas Hilton.

While in Utah, I capitalized on some amazingly gorgeous weather and knocked out a fantastic 10-miler on Wed with the gorgeous red rock around me. Southwest Utah is an amazing place to run.

Later, my parents and I drove the course of the St. George Marathon, which I am potentially lining up for next year. The elevation drop goes from 5,240' down to 2,680'. Wow, what a course! There is one major hill at mile 6.

Jen and I ended the week in Vegas for a short visit together and only ended up down $50 in craps. We did score tickets to Jerry Seinfeld at Caesar's Palace for Friday night, which was really funny.

Today, I hit my 17-miler as planned and finished really strong. See the splits below. I finished with 44 miles for the week.


On the down side, I am feeling the very early symptoms of what I believe is Achilles tendinits on the right back heel. I started yesterday in Vegas while doing a short 5-miler. It's not really excrutiating, but I think it is mildly swollen. I need to nurse it carefully over the next day or so. I will rest tomorrow.

Right now, I am trying to following Pfitz's plan and target the Last Chance to Boston marathon on Feb 13. Yes, some of you have expressed concern about running 26.2 one-mile laps, but think about the focus on time you would have!

Even I if were to somehow qualify, I do not know if I will go to Boston due to Jen's pregnancy. I'm going to play that by ear, but I want to stay healthy and try to qualify again in February. Now that my friends will be there, it would be great to go to Boston for the 2nd year in a row!