It's Chicago Time!

Whenever I'm in Chicago I remember a verse that my parents used to say when we were kids - it went like this: Chicken in the car and the car won't go - that's how you spell Chi-car-go.. It seems silly now but it's just one of those childhood memories I have. So, YES, I arrived in Chicago earlier today, got settled into my hotel room, picked up my race materials for Sunday, took a 3 hour nap and had a relaxing dinner this evening.

Yes, a 3 hour nap - not a 3 hour tour. I couldn't understand why I was so tired but then I reflected on how my week progressed and it became clearer why I was so pooped!

Monday: Worked all day, drove an hour to the Philadelphis airport, flew to Boston.

Tuesday: Ran 5+ miles along the Charles River in high humidity, sat in an all day business meeting, flew from Boston to Kansas City (through Charlotte), Drove an hour to my hotel in Lenexa, KS, got to bed at 1:30am Central time.

Wednesday: Woke up at 6:00am, went to work, hosted a retirement luncheon for one of my Director's, attended meetings during the afternoon.

Thursday: Drove back to the Kansas City airport, flew back to Philadelphia, drove an hour home, unpacked, did laundry, and packed for my trip to Chicago.

Friday: Woke up at 4:30am, drove to the Philadelphia airport, flew to Chicago, took the train from the airport into the city, checked into my hotel, walked for a couple of hours around the city.

Whew! I think my 3 hour nap was justified.

Tomorrow I am planning to get in an eary morning run and then do some touristy stuff - not exactly sure yet.

Race time is 6:30am on Sunday morning so it will be another early start!

Happy Trails Folks!
John

No PR But Good Enough for 2nd Place!

Today I ran my June Half Marathon right here in the Philadelphia area – Pennypack Park to be exact. The ½ Sauer ½ Kraut ½ Marathon kicked off at 7:30am on a beautiful Saturday morning. Although warm (about 68 degrees at race start), there was no humidity and the majority of the race course was shaded due to the park setting. What a fun race! There were some challenging slopes and part of the course was on dirt and rock trails which made it a little tricky for footing. Although I did not PR this race (1:57:11 is my unofficial time), my time was good enough to place me 2^nd in my age group (Male 55-59)! Placing in the top 3 in my age group was totally unexpected so I was really caught by surprise when they called my name. I had just finished congratulating the fellow who was sitting across from me who placed 2^nd in his age group when I heard my name called – unreal!

It is unexpected surprises like this that encourage me to keep plugging away. After watching Nik Walenda walk a tight rope across Niagara Falls last night and listening to him talk about fulfilling his dreams brings home the message that having dreams and setting goals are what make things happen. And the key here is that we have to make things happen. Taking charge is what it's all about. No more excuses!

Next month I'll be running the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon on July 22. Between now and then, I'll be kicking off my training program for the Marine Corps Marathon which will be in Washington, DC on October 28. Hard to believe that will be here before too long.

Happy and Safe Running Folks!
John