Say Hello To

Edwin Nicholas
Born 5-28-10 1:14 pm
8 lbs 11 oz. 21 "

Due Date!

Well, it's here! May 21. Ellie's due. No sign of baby yet...

I like Helen's approach to the blog. I can't just retire it whenever I decide to. I've got to earn the retirement! Have I accomplished all the things I set out to accomplish with this blog? NO!
I still haven't broken 3 hours in the marathon.
So there you go. The blog lives on...for now. And through the fall, as I don't see a viable option for a sub-3 effort fitting into the schedule. I really want to run well at North Face in the Marathon, and I really want to run well at Glacial Trail. So perhaps next spring I'll try to break three hours.
Wait...no...I want to run Chippewa again (and dominate Helen again) and really want to run Superior. And, speaking of next year, is everyone aware of this crazy idea?
Yesterday was another decent run on the Glacial Trail course. The temps reached into the 70's, and it got pretty muggy. I didn't have a ton of spring in my legs, so I actually cut the run a bit short. I ran a bit harder in the 2nd half of the run, but still nothing all too crazy. I took a couple pictures...one of a section of the trail similar to this section of the Superior Hiking Trail, only much more forgiving...

...and another picture of the board walk...a portion of the trail that lets me know I'm very close to my car once again...

2 weeks

Wow! Time is flying!

Last Thursday I had my best run yet and haven't had any problems with my foot. I think I may have simply put too many miles (and too many pavement miles) on my original pair of New Balance 100's. A new pair arrived last week and they feel a lot more sturdy (if that shoe can be called 'sturdy'). I'm working on steadily building up the long run each week, adding 15 minutes each time. Last week's run was supposed to be about 2 hours, but I felt great, and my HR stayed relatively low, so I pushed the pace and it ended up being 1:45. I'll take it, though. This week I'm aiming for 2:15.

I really missed Ice Age this year--it was going to be a goal race for the spring before the foot issues, and reading about the run is only making me more jealous. Huge congrats to the finishers...no matter the time!

Last night Ellie said, "I'm ready to meet my baby." She's huuge in the belly region, and the anticipation is growing each day! I still contend the baby will be (a) late and (b) a girl, but she thinks otherwise.

I hope the baby doesn't arrive TOO late, as I've still got my eyes on a local marathon over Memorial Day weekend. If the long runs continue to build, I'll be ready for a 3:10-3:20 marathon by then.

My next post will likely include baby pictures...and may be the last for the blog. I started the blog tracking mileage and training, and now I just do that on Garmin Connect anyway. I'm throwing around the idea of making the blog private and then including more family and non-running stuff into it, but I guess we'll see.

In the meantime, HAPPY TRAILS, congrats to Brad, Matt, Tony, and all the other finishers at Ice Age, and keep praying for a smooth delivery of the little one!

The Planks at Mile 1 of the Glacial Trail course.