MB is in the race...

(<--MB and I Finishing Las Vegas Together)

MB's Marathons...
So, it has come to my attention (because MB sent me an email) that MB is up there in her race for the states as well. She's not really trying to hit all states, however she will be doing the Flying Pig this year and when she does it will be her 6th state as well.

If you have been following along like good children you would know that by the time she runs the pig (May 3rd) I'll have run Atlanta (GA) and Nashville (TN) so I will also be up to 6 states. MB has run... ummm I believe 11 marathons???

I'll add a post to the side to track MB's states as well!
MB's States... (Any my best guesses at the marathons)
1. NY (Hudson Mohawk AND NYC Marathon)
2. MA (Boston Marathon)
3. FL (Disney Marathon)
4. NV (New Las Vegas-- with me in '06)
5. IL (Chicago Marathon)
6. *Soon to be OH- Flying Pig Marathon 2009.

-Happy Running!!!

ING Georgia Countdown... 3 Days, 8 Hours

We begin the countdown. And some updates....
1) We received our bibs today. It looks as though I was seeded, but I'm not sure what corral I'll be in. I'm #2643 out of the 15,000 so that's a plus! I can't seem to find anything online about the corral setup. If anybody sees anything let me know!!

2) I have an update for the runner tracking... here is the new link:
http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=25

3) Finally, I've included a poll above for the summer run. Remember I'll be running Nashville at the end of April and the first week of May is the Flying Pig. I will probably not run the full pig, having done Nashville the week before. Please feel free to vote in the poll!!!

ING Georgia Marathon

The bad news: due to quacked out Dr.'s I was unable to participate in the Alabama Marathon. Do not worry-- there is always next year.

The GREAT news: I will be running the ING Georgia Marathon in Atlanta, GA this coming weekend. And I'm still signed up for Nashville in about a month from now. :) Joe Guth (Aka "Joe Mother Guth")- an avid runner with 1, 15K race of experience will be joining me for the half marathon.

About Atlanta...
1) I have never been to Atlanta! Welllll I've been to the airport quite a few times but that doesn't really count.
2) Kristina and Ryan (both GE leadership program friends) live there and I'll get to see them both!
3) It has the World of Coca-Cola!!! How exciting is that?!?! http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/

About ING Georgia...
Race Stats:
-Date: March 29, 2009. Current countdown: 4 Days, 21 Hours

-Map Track: If you would like to track my progress through the race you can follow the below link starting the day of the race. Look under the 2009 tab and use my last name to track... http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=17100

-Weather: Currently race day (Sunday) looks like it will be sunny with a high of 67. That would be quite hot-- hopefully the morning doesn't bring such a high temp. However, Saturday is supposed to have scattered T-Storms. HOPEFULLY these storms won't push out til Sunday!!!

-Capacity: The race cuts off at 15,000 runners for both the half and the full. 30 days prior to race date they were at over 12,000 spots taken. I was able to sign up just this past weekend, so it hasn't sold out yet.
-This is the 3rd Running of the ING Georgia Marathon. Hopefully this should be enough time to clear out any kinks in the marathon. It looks like the race may have had some water state planning issues in the first running, but they were resolved by the second year. They also have some start/corral issues. HOPEFULLY I'll be seeded and placed in a decent corral. I may have signed up too late to get seeded however. :( They release our bib numbers tomorrow (3/25)

-Beer: I have seen postings about mile 22 having beer. I will make a mental note to find it!

-The Course: HILLS, HILLS, HILLS. Holy Hills batman, this looks like a tough one. Here's an elevation chart:

My Race Plans...

I haven't been running very many long runs lately, so this should be a little test of muscle memory and it should hurt a lot-- then again, what marathon doesn't?

JMG- "Joe Mother Guth" and I will be racing the first half of this marathon. Recently JMG has made claim that he could beat me in a half marathon. Well the challenge has been made and accepted. The first 7.0 miles will be run on the same course and the remainder of the distance, I will be on the full marathon course while JMG will be on his way to the finish (must be nice). Please note by the elevation chart, this means he will be missing most of the "BIG HILL." No excuses though-- I'll still beat him! No wager has been made as of yet, but I'm sure we can think of something by Sunday.

Currently the race conditions look very hilly and either VERY hot or Thunderstorms. If it's hot my concentration will be hydration and hills will be taken a little slower. If it's thunderstorms and cooler then it looks like speed work up the hills and get finished before I get struck my lightening. That's the good thing about being so short... it will hit a LOT of other people before me!!

As always, if you have any tips for the race this weekend feel free to share your thoughts!!!

The Medal!!!!

OH! I almost forgot!!! Reason #7... THIS is the medal you get when you finish-- it's awesome!

What more is there after you go to Disney World???... Alabama-- Duh!

Soooo the leg pain is gone which means.... let's plan more marathons!!!

I've decided on my next one-- The "Mercedes Marathon" in Birmingham Alabama-- Please feel free to be VERY jealous :0\ The race is on February 15, 2009, if anyone would like to join!!! I've also signed up for the Nashville Country Music Marathon in April and guess what? CB will be doing her 2nd marathon!!!

Soo... why Alabama? I'll be doing this marathon for a few reasons...

1. The Myrtle Beach Marathon was closed out! Juuuuust Kiddddding......... but seriously, closed!! WTH?

2. You get a Mercedes if you finish-- Again, kidding! But that would be really cool. HOWEVER-- you DO get a LOT of free stuff!!! They're actually known for that. Apparently they have a ton of sponsors and they're always giving away free things. yayyyy

3. A group of the galloway runners from Cinci will be carpooling down-- always nice to have people to travel with!!

4. I'm not sure if this is a reason to or a reason NOT to, but... this is the course elevation chart. You do 2 large 13 mile loops, so you get that very very large hill TWICE. One of those times is between 19 and 23 miles. It's going to suck... but hey, a challenge is always good, right? Maybe?? Anyone???

5. It's on V-Day... so I get to think of a realllly cool pink and red costume to wear. Mayyyybe I'll be cupid... it's give me an excuse to run with a bow and arrow and shoot people!!!

6. Obvi... I haven't done Alabama yet!!!

Disney Pics... new and old!!!!!

Disney released their pictures... I've added them to the old ones I already posted and deleted that post....



Go to ImageShack® to Create your own Slideshow

The Next Day... Thoughts on the Disney Marathon

Overall Race Rating: 4.5/5.0

Well... It's one day after the race and I thought I would include a few thoughts/suggestion/pointers.... Whatever you may want to call it.

The Good...

1) The race was great! Very well coordinated. The start went off at exactly 5:50. Since I was in the first group behind the elite runners it only took about 1.5 minutes to get to the start. That's only because we took our merry old time getting to the start and were at the back at the A corral. Water every 2 miles... although NOT all on mile markers... which can be hard if you're doing run/walk splits and want to do 1Mile/1min

2) If you are situated in a lower group and want to move up... fold your bib and PIN it down so u can't unfold it. If you have an unlikely number for the group you are trying to sneak into you can also fold your bib the long way to make it look shorter, or tell them you were moved up a group at check-in--- This worked well for CB as we snuck her into group A with an 18,000-something number.

3) There was entertainment almost the ENTIRE way from the fire works right next to you at the start to the characters, music and gospel choir at the end!! There were a couple miles in the back lots, but they filled those with interesting facts and other things to think about. The only place I found lacked characters, music, etc. was between 23 and 26... There wasn't much.

4) Your "ChEAR squad" was adequately prepared! They provide 2 tools that I posted below-- Runner Tracking and Tool to locate where your runner will be based on time. BOTH of those worked superbly!!! MB and Michael were getting texts at 5:50 am!!! ... which I'm sure they appreciated. Ben-- my chEAR squad-- was able to find me at EVERY stop they had listed.

The Bad...

5) $$$-- Expect to lose a LOT of it! The price of the marathon truly reflects the destination. It is a rather expensive marathon. As are the hotels that weekend, and the merchandise. AND there is NO discount or free passes for the theme parks!!! HOWEVER-- you get a GREAT long sleeve breathable stitch running shirt, and the entertainment throughout is priceless.

6) HEAT!!! This if Florida after all... throughout the week we thought we would have light rain. Well... that was not the case at all. About 2 hours into the race the sun came up, clear skies, and HOT! I've been in Florida for the past 6 months, and I still thought it was HOT! And shade wasn't always easy to find.

7) If you're not used to getting up at 3am (and I mean the ENTIRETY of you-- even the potty side) then this might be tricky. The roads close at 4am so you'll have to get your car to epcot or yourself on a monorail before 4am! If you're a very .... ahem, "regular" person, the 3am wakup call may prove difficult.

The Ugly...

8) DO NOT use running flats unless you can run ...3:15 or less!!! They hurt hurt hurt. There was virtually NO shock absorption and now my legs hurt and my ankle is QUITE swollen.

9) My thoughts on running shorts: You know true "Running shorts" with the little fake undies built right in? Yeah those are TERRIBLE for chafing. If you wear them use body glide (Yeah CB, I know!!!)! (as you can tell, this was a bit of an uncomfortable marathon for Moi!). Both of these things I purchased at a Nike Town. Welll... it's back to ALL mizuno for me!!!

By far the best shoes, shorts, etc. in the running world...

http://www.mizunousa.com/running?openform