Marathon went well this year. 3:16 and 7th in 65-69 age group! Also really fun because Lance and Diana came to watch and I got to see them at mile 24, the most grueling part of the course. Also saw lots of PT students at finish line. Beautiful day to run and overall fun race!
But I’m also nervous. I’ve really lost my edge over the last year. Hopefully I’ve got one more of these in this aging body!
Lance’s friend, Matt Gollins is running and Lance will be coming to watch,, so that will be really fun! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🏃🏼♂️➡️🏃🏽♂️🏃🏃🏻➡️🏃🏽♂️
Last weekend was really fun. Diana, Mik, and I went back to St. Paul, MN for a Mac Women's Soccer game. We drank lots of Dunn Bros coffee, had good meals at classic MN restaurants, and nice workout on the trails and around the many lakes. Sadly, Mac lost, but it was great to see some of the players I recalled from last year and Mik had a fun reunion.
Fun time with Diana in Milwaukee, WI this past Saturday.
The race was fun but difficult. The swim was no-wetsuits and I swam particularly slow. The good thing is my watch glitched and I couldn't see my swim time, so I thought it was ok. That ended up being good becuase I didn't get discouraged right out of the gate. Bike went well and I had fast transitions. My run was the fastest of the age group even though that was pretty slow too (7.2 min/mile). But it was really hot (high 80s and humid). Ended up 6th in age group.
Best part was our Italian dinner the night before in a cute restaurant
Diana and I had fun at our friend's "40th Anniversary LiveAid Concert" party and dress-up. Here we are as Bob Dillon and Madonna.
This may have been my last IM race. Still not sure, but I don't know what next year will look like and I don't want to commit to another one right now. Yesterday's race was a tough one! Thankfully Diana and Mik drove out to watch and caught part of the bike and the run. I was so out of it at the end of the run, I past right by the turn off to the finish. Mik saved me by running me down a few block into an extra lap. I had to run back against traffic, but finished! It was in the upper 90s with a heat index of 110 degrees! I'm toast today.
Another Duathlon National Championship! Won my age group for a 5th time. Such a fun and exciting weekend in Omaha. Yes, the location is pretty boring, but the racing was difficult and fun. The best part was hanging with Jim and Paul at our shabby cottage. The decor was like something out of "Psycho" from the 60s with a giant flower mural you couldn't avoid. Then on the first night, the garbage disposal backed up and erupted into the sink. Really nasty! But we all laughed about the whole thing and had fun.
Here I am meeting Mark Allen, one of my all-time heroes from the 1980s. Mark won 6 IM World Championships in the early 80s. And turns out he is a good speaker and a very nice, humble guy. So cool! Jim, Paul and I celebrating at the bottom. I think the guy next to me might be vomiting! Yay!
This May has been a very fun, emotional and stressful month so far! Lance's graduation was May 4th and Mik's was May 18th. Both were fun, but it is difficult to accept that this period in our lives is over! I hate goodbyes and there were so many: both kids had to say goodbye to the many friends they made a Pitt and Mac and Diana and I had to say goodbye to this period of our lives. While I'll miss Pitt and the crazy hills and bridges of Pittsburgh, I'll miss Mac and the beautiful lakes and Minnehaha trail of MN even more. I loved going to all the women's soccer games, getting to know the players, parents, coach and all of Mik's friends. So its hard for us to say goodbye to that part of the world, too.
But, I'm also so proud of these two! They really made the absolute most of their respective college experiences. Lance did amazing, graduating with honors in a very tough major, biochem, and managing to take the MCAT exam too. He worked several challenging jobs over the 4 years, including as an EMT and as a research assistant. He was very dedicated at both jobs and made many friends, both on the job as well as at school. Mik also had a great experience, making a name for herself on the soccer team, making a very broad and eclectic group of friends, and also doing great academically! She also worked hard, including work-study jobs, continuing her research with a mentor at the Morton Arb and being very involved with clubs and organizations. It was obvious that they both loved their experiences and that speaks to interesting multidimensional personalities and abilities to connect with people!
But the races are coming up soon: Duathlon Nationals 2-weeks from today and then IM 70.3 Rockford 3-weeks later. I've really lost it this year and lowering my expectations for nationals. I just don't have the top-end speed any longer. Plus, with all the travel this spring and moving people in and out, I haven't had the time to train. On top of that. the heel pain from last year never went away and now as the races are coming up, its back with a vengeance. It's a little disappointing but at least I'm still going (for now).
