Spent the day just wandering around the mall –
My thoughts on the 4th annual Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon in Murfreesboro, TN
Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon
October 16, 2010
www.themiddlehalf.com
My Run: Overall, the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon (Middle Half) in Murfreesboro was my sixth half marathon, and my second long-distance race in the last two weeks (Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on 10/03). This was the second time I have run the Middle Half, which is capped at 2,250 runners. Actually, the Middle Half in 2008 was my first long distance event ever.
I went into this race with absolutely no goals. Being two-weeks out from the Twin Cities Marathon, I just wanted to do this one by feel. On top of that, I also had a stomach virus the previous weekend where I lost 4 pounds from my already low post-marathon weight. With this in mind, I decided to do a 10 to 15 minute warmup before the race, including some stride-outs, and then see what pace felt comfortable. On race morning the weather was absolutely perfect and I felt surprisingly good. I decided that I would start the race around a 7:00 to 7:15 min per mile pace, and then go from there.
There were a number of members from my regular running group who also ran in this race. Many of these are gearing up for the Marine Corps Marathon in two weeks, and were using this race as a good solid tempo run. My buddy Paxton even turned this into his final long run before Marine Corp, by adding miles before and after the race. He ran 20 miles in total.
Beginning on Sunday, October 10th and continuing through Wednesday, October 13th, I will be preaching at a Gospel Meeting for the Old Charlotte Road Church of Christ in Pegram, TN. You are invited to join us as we look at the following critical questions:
- Sunday AM Class (9 AM) – How should we observe the Lord’s Supper?
- Sunday AM Worship (10 AM) – What does it really mean to have faith in Jesus?
- Sunday PM Worship (6 PM) – Why do we need God’s laws?
- Monday PM Worship (7 PM) – Where should I build my life?
- Tuesday PM Worship (7 PM) – What is the cost of discipleship?
- Wednesday PM Worship (7 PM) – How should we approach God?
The Old Charlotte Road Church of Christ meets at 8663 Old Charlotte Road Pegram, TN 37143. DM me or email me at timagee@yahoo.com for more information.
Please Join Us!
My thoughts on the 29th annual Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
October 3, 2010
www.mtcmarathon.org
My Run: Overall, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon (MTC) was my fifth full marathon, and my first since the Country Music Marathon in April 2010. All five of my marathons have been within the past 12 months, with the 2009 Chicago Marathon being my first. In the first four marathons, I set PRs in 3 of them, improving from 3:53 in Chicago (10/09) to 3:39 in Knoxville (03/10). Even though I was steadily improving, I knew I needed a better cross training program if I was truly going to take my running to the next level and ultimately qualify for Boston.
With that in mind, I started P90X in June after doing a lot of research into cross training programs. Even with the improved training I knew that closing a 24-minute gap to qualify for Boston by the MTC in October would be exceptionally difficult.
Throughout my training this summer I began to see steady improvement, and as of August began to think about setting 3:30 as a goal for the MTC depending on the race day conditions. However, when I stated this goal to someone in our running group, their response back was “You’re faster than that! You should be going for 3:15!” This was both encouraging and terrifying at the same time.
As August moved into September, our group did a couple of marathon pace indicator workouts, and things seemed to be pointing in the direction of being capable of doing a 3:15. With this in mind, I started increasing the speed of my tempo runs. My first attempt at a 10-mile tempo run at 3:15 marathon pace was a bust. I only lasted through 7-miles. However, my next attempt of 11-miles was very successful. After discussing this with several members of our running group, I decided to go for it at MTC provided that weather conditions were favorable.
When I woke up on race-day morning, it was 39 degrees, and the highs during the race were only supposed to reach the low 50s. Perfect conditions! Unfortunately, there was not a 3:15 pace group, only a 3:10 or 3:20. At the advice of several from my group, my goal was to run even splits as much as possible, and not try to bank any time. From their experience, they indicated I would need all of the stamina I could get for the hills beginning at mile 20.
Sara Agee – TC Toddler Trot Finisher (with Papa)
Kate Agee – TC Kid’s Marathon Finisher!