my first half-marathon

Last week a colleague reminded me that the Queen's half-marathon would be this saturday. Well, Kristin and I have been doing all this training, so I figured why not. Of course, I've never really run 13.1 miles before, well I've never even really come close, maybe 8 miles, if we're rounding up. Anyway, I figured it was worth a shot. So this Friday night, I resisted the many temptations of bountiful libations, and after a big dinner with Kristin and our friend Mike, I made off in search of some sleep--not really sure what would happen today. This morning, at some ungodly hour, I headed out to queens for the big event. Well, I did it. And it wasn't really that bad at all. Somewhere around mile 6 I just fell into a good groove and the rest was gravy. I finished with a respectable 1:53 time. It was a beautiful day... 50 degrees, low humidity, and a nice breeze. What a day to go running!

The mighty winds of Pilates

Both Kristin and I have enrolled in a lunchtime Pilates class that happens to fall (serindipitously) on our recovery day. We're now on week three, and speaking for myself, I've learned several things about my body (and a few things about other peoples'!). For one, I am not very flexible. This doesn't come as a big surprise to me, but given all the stretching and running, etc... I would have thought this might have improved ... Nope. I've also learned that aside from helping digest my food and powering the occasional crunch, my stomach and its muscles are next to useless. I'm hoping this will improve with some expert pilates instruction, but the early results are pretty pathetic. As for other peoples bodies, I've learned that some of my classmates lack sufficient strength in another muscle ... the one that controls whether or not one passes gas, so to speak. If you know even a thing or two about Pilates (which is about all I know), you know that there are several movements where lying on your back, your legs swing all the way behind your head, leaving your rear pointing straight out, and apparently for some, ready to fire.

international training

I'm in scut-lind for my former roommate and perennial ski partner stephen's wedding. The wedding is slated for Tuesday, and since arriving in Edinburgh on Saturday morning, the weather has been beautiful--perfect for sightseeing. and what better way to see the sights than to run by them. of course this requires some modifications to my otherwise perfect running form (ummm). I'll post some blurry pictures soon. In the meantime, it's time to soak up the remaining daylight, and go meet my current roommate Scott who is arriving this afternoon after a rather circuitous voyage from new york.