Sally Meyerhoff was killed yesterday in a cycling accident. She was, from what I have read in her blog, excitedly training for her new adventure as a professional triathlete. What follows is one of the last paragraphs written in Sally Meyerhoff’s blog on Sunday. You can read it all at http://runsalm3.blogspot.com/2011/03/way-overdue.html, along with many of Sally’s other writings in her blog Run Sal. “I cannot express how HAPPY I am… Read More »So Fragile…
Sally Meyerhoff was killed yesterday in a cycling accident. She was, from what I have read in her blog, excitedly training for her new adventure as a professional triathlete. What follows is one of the last paragraphs written in Sally Meyerhoff’s blog on Sunday. You can read it all at http://runsalm3.blogspot.com/2011/03/way-overdue.html, along with many of Sally’s other writings in her blog Run Sal. “I cannot express how HAPPY I am… Read More »So Fragile…
Okay. First the bad news: this was the slowest marathon I have ever run …… by a bunch. The upside is that I really don’t care. Well, I do, but I don’t. Well….. you know …… whatever… I guess to get the full picture you have to read on. After all, even I’M confused about how I feel about this 26.2 mile journey. The day began well with a pleasant… Read More »Napa Valley Marathon Race Report
Spent part of the afternoon at the Napa Valley Marathon expo hoping to get my 1984 Olympic Marathon picture signed by Joan Benoit Samuelson (see: http://runspittle.blogspot.com/2011/02/still-waiting-for-joannie-but-only-9.html for more details). Mission accomplished. She was a part of an excellent panel consisting of her, Bill Rodgers (see:http://runspittle.blogspot.com/2011/03/bill-rodgers-and-pre-race-napa.html for my history with Boston Billy), Dick Beardsley, and Guy Morse, so I was able to sneak up to chat with JBS afterward. It’s been… Read More »PreRace Napa: Part #2 No Longer Waiting for Joannie
In the tenth grade, my Coach Al Pingel, taught us that the day to get your best rest was not necessarily the day before a race, but the day before the day before. Now that doesn’t mean that going sleepless the night before is good, but one can get by with a little restlessness and such without overly suffering in the race. If that, then, is the first test of… Read More »PreRace Napa: Part #1. Run to Overcome
I would be remiss if I didn’t share my Napa Valley Marathon excitement about another celebrity attendee: Bill Rodgers. Boston Billy is one of the greatest American marathoners of all time and a distance running ICON. Few people anywhere can match Bill Rodgers’ magnetic personality as well as the ferocity with which he used to race. While I’ve never met Joan Benoit Samuelson (see http://runspittle.blogspot.com/2011/02/still-waiting-for-joannie-but-only-9.html ) I have met Bill… Read More »Bill Rodgers and Pre Race Napa
Did I just say that? A great time for taxes??? Oddly yes, I did. In the few days left prior to departing for the Napa Valley Marathon, I have been meticulously working on my tax worksheet for my accountant. It’s good to have something to do. Yesterday I ran six miles. Even though it was a pretty crappy run and extremely windy, I had to fight the urge to go… Read More »A Great Time For Taxes
With a week to go until the Napa Valley Marathon, I did a bit of a final equipment check today, wearing everything I’m going to wear. All systems were go in that arena. The plan today was to run eleven miles, consisting of one easy, four paced, one easy, four paced, one down. Everything went off without a single problem. The first mile was 10:10, the next four around 9:30… Read More »One Week To Go!
It was around 26 and a half years ago that Joan Benoit (now Benoit Samuelson) won the first Women’s Olympic Marathon. I’m proud to say I was there: and there, and there, and over there, and several other places too. Finally, for the first time ever, I am hoping to meet Joannie at the Napa Valley Marathon next weekend. She’ll be at the Expo. We took the road trip to… Read More »Waiting for Joannie a Ninth Time…
As the months and weeks of anticipation become days, I am officially tapering for the Napa Valley Marathon… but not really. As many of you know, the best way to hit your physiological peak for a racing event is to “taper” or “peak” just prior to its occurrence. A myriad of factors go into a proper peak and it is very much an individualized art form as opposed to an… Read More »Taper Madness? Probably Not.