Before I could start my run, I needed to go to Dick's and buy a hydration belt. When I ran 12 miles a couple of weeks ago, I went the whole distance with no water and felt the difference. dick's didn't open until 10:00 so it was around 11:00 before I got going. I ran the Olentangy Trail. I felt really good the whole way. Just tired the last 3-4 miles, but never in any pain and never feeling like I wouldn't make it.
I started out running on a mulch covered trail that runs parallel to the paved trail. It was soft and kind of nice for a awhile. the I started to realize that it was getting even softer and starting to feel like running on the beach which is actually a lot more work for your legs. I was also starting to get bits of wood in my shoes, also not good. I moved back over to the paved trail.
When I was about 5.5 miles in to my run a guy came up to me and asked if I was taking pictures of things along my run. I told him yes, that I was training for a marathon, writing a blog and running my first half marathon today. He ran with me for a mile. His name is Ismail and he is from Hamburg, Germany. He is 52 and training for his 5th marathon. He is running in April in Hamburg. the route goes right past his mother's house and he will be spending time there with his mother and sisters. He was such a nice guy, gave me his tips on training and having fun while doing it. He said that I was doing the right thing, just having fun with it and not worrying about my time. He said, whatever you do on the race day will be your personal best, so just have fun. He also told me to get the movie "Spirit of the Marathon". I'll have to check in to that. At 6.75 miles I said goodbye to Ismail because I had to turn around. I like having company, but not so much that i wanted to keep going and turn this in to a run any longer than 13.1 miles.
I really had fun today. When you run that many miles, you have a tendency to start passing people that you have seen before. Lots more hellos and one goofy young couple that were running towards Ismail and me, waving and then wanting to high five us. Ismail said, friends of yours? I said no, thought they were friends of your. Nope. I passed them again a few miles later going the other direction and this time I was the one that raised my hand to high five them. LOL!
More little critters along my path today. This time a cute little frog. Just had to stop and take his picture.
I always like when I pass the halfway mark. It is all down hill from there. You have to have mental milestones to keep you going. this picture was taken around 9 miles into the run. Everything is so green. Much different than when I first ran this trail 3 weeks ago. 
Just when I am really tired, two guys go sprinting by with full size backpacks on their backs. As if a backpack wasn't enough, one guy had a big metal padlock hanging off of his. Talk about feeling every bit of my 55 years old! Ha-Ha! Just then, I round the corner and see this! Ha, I am not tired enough yet, let's stop and do some pull-ups. I don't think so! This was at the 11 mile marker and I was getting excited about being done. Next milestone was to pass under the bridge at 270 which would be just about 1 mile to the finish line. I had to stop and take a picture there too. By the way, in case anyone is thinking I could improve my time by not stopping so much to take pictures, well it just wouldn't be fun and this is about fun for me, not setting records. Besides, I take the pictures when I do my 1 minute walks during the run.
So now my half way point is done. I guess I am really going to do this! Today I listened to what I will call "Songs from SI". When Bank One and Chase merged, I spent a lot of time working on the system conversions. We first went through a process of evaluating the systems that Chase had vs. the systems that Bank One had and made decisions about which would be the surviving systems for everything from deposits to loans to safe deposit box billing systems and so on. The system that Chase had used for their retail checking accounts was called "SI". We spent about a year or so preparing for and then converting all of the Chase accounts off that system and on to the Bank One legacy system. I have a friend that I work with, Tom, who loves music as much as I do and during the long days sitting in command centers we would talk about what music we liked, as well as many other things. It all started one day with a conversation about Humble Pie, that it was one of the first concerts that I had ever been to. Tom is at least 10 years younger than me and was impressed that I had gone to the that concert. At the end of the conversion, Tom made a CD for me and titled it "Songs from SI". I listened to that today. Thanks for the entertainment Tom. The CD has all female artists like, Alanis Morissette, Carole King, Joan Osborne, Melissa Etheridge, Natalie Merchant, Tracy Chapman, Sara McLachlan, etc. I have always loved the song by Natalie Merchant (from 10,000 maniacs) called Hey Jack Kerouac. Here is part of the song: |
| This is Jack |
Hey Jack Kerouac, I think of your mother
and the tears she cried, she cried for none other
than her little boy lost in our little world that hated
and that dared to drag him down. Her little boy courageous
who chose his words from mouths of babes got lost in the wood.
Hip flask slinging madman, steaming cafe flirts,
they all spoke through you.
 |
| Natalie Merchant |
One other song that I listened to at the start of my run, had me laughing so hard. It is a song by Alanis Morisette called, You Oughta Know. There is a part that made me think of a story that my Dad shared with all off us, years ago, about a conversation that he had with my Mother. For anyone that reads this, if you have heard the story, you will know what I am referencing, otherwise, just enjoy the lyrics (chorus only):
Chorus: Of the mess you left when you went away
It's not fair to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know
That's what I think of every time I hear that song too!
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