Attention current and future runners: The Sioux Falls Half Marathon is scheduled for Sunday September 13th. Besides the 13.1-mile race, there will be a two-person half-marathon relay and a 5K.
The half-marathon course begins at Howard Wood Field and continues downtown before meeting up with the bike path. If my memory is correct, besides the area around Falls Park, the course is relatively flat.
The best part is the cost: only 30 bucks through the end of July! So, lace up those sneakers. You know you want to!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Marathon man
Well, I completed the Mickelson Trail Marathon in Deadwood yesterday morning - and lived to tell about it! Except for some mist in the highest elevations, conditions were close to ideal for such a long run.
I didn't know what to expect time-wise coming in because of the elevation (between 4,600 and 6,000 feet about sea level). I felt really good during the first half, which was all uphill. It was between miles 17 and 19 when my brain had to override my body. I got some food and liquids in me around mile 20, which made a world of difference. At mile 23, I was at 3 hours and 30 minutes. I figured I could pull off a sub-4:00 finishing time if I could manage 10-minute miles the rest of the way. Usually, that would be a piece of cake for me; however, the marathon isn't my usual distance.
I was at 3:40 at mile 24 and around 3:49 at mile 25. Oh, it hurt! But I had my goal, and after running so far, I didn't care if I ended up in the hospital afterward. I wanted to finish in under four hours!
The clock over the finish line read 4:00:21 when I crossed. However, that was the gun time. Thank goodness this was a chip-timed event. "My clock" didn't start until I (or, more specifically, my shoe) crossed the start line. I checked my official time before heading back to the hotel, which was...
3:59:46!!! I had a whole fourteen seconds to spare.
The craziest thing about this race is how I felt afterward. Sure, I was (am) sore, but I was in awfully good spirits. And I was downright giddy for the remainder of the afternoon.
So, that's that. Running a marathon is a major time commitment because of the training involved. And my body took a beating. But even though I'm more of a half marathoner, I won't rule out another full marathon in the future.
Special thanks to Amy, Brian C., and Daniel for their appearance at the finish line. Your presence there meant a lot!
P.S. Here's an article about the race from the Rapid City Journal. Over 2,000 runners participated!
I didn't know what to expect time-wise coming in because of the elevation (between 4,600 and 6,000 feet about sea level). I felt really good during the first half, which was all uphill. It was between miles 17 and 19 when my brain had to override my body. I got some food and liquids in me around mile 20, which made a world of difference. At mile 23, I was at 3 hours and 30 minutes. I figured I could pull off a sub-4:00 finishing time if I could manage 10-minute miles the rest of the way. Usually, that would be a piece of cake for me; however, the marathon isn't my usual distance.
I was at 3:40 at mile 24 and around 3:49 at mile 25. Oh, it hurt! But I had my goal, and after running so far, I didn't care if I ended up in the hospital afterward. I wanted to finish in under four hours!
The clock over the finish line read 4:00:21 when I crossed. However, that was the gun time. Thank goodness this was a chip-timed event. "My clock" didn't start until I (or, more specifically, my shoe) crossed the start line. I checked my official time before heading back to the hotel, which was...
3:59:46!!! I had a whole fourteen seconds to spare.
The craziest thing about this race is how I felt afterward. Sure, I was (am) sore, but I was in awfully good spirits. And I was downright giddy for the remainder of the afternoon.
So, that's that. Running a marathon is a major time commitment because of the training involved. And my body took a beating. But even though I'm more of a half marathoner, I won't rule out another full marathon in the future.
Special thanks to Amy, Brian C., and Daniel for their appearance at the finish line. Your presence there meant a lot!
P.S. Here's an article about the race from the Rapid City Journal. Over 2,000 runners participated!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Urban Agriculture Update
Here is a recent article from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader on our Urban Agriculture project at Lowell Elementary. I am very excited about this project am look forward to watching the students "grow" over the summer. AmeriCorps VISTA is a partner in this project, so all VISTA members are welcome to get involved. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
VISTA lunch today, Black Hills tomorrow!
Hey everybody! Back Again! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the cabin tomorrow evening.
In case you're wondering, and I know that you are!, the Sioux Falls VISTAs are getting together today for our monthly VISTA lunch. We'll catch up on what everyone's been up to, talk about the retreat, and discuss different ways to get involved in the organizations we serve with. That means we'll see each other for 4, possibly 6, days in a row. Yikes! I hope we don't strangle each other by the close of the week.
See you all tomorrow!
In case you're wondering, and I know that you are!, the Sioux Falls VISTAs are getting together today for our monthly VISTA lunch. We'll catch up on what everyone's been up to, talk about the retreat, and discuss different ways to get involved in the organizations we serve with. That means we'll see each other for 4, possibly 6, days in a row. Yikes! I hope we don't strangle each other by the close of the week.
See you all tomorrow!
Friday, May 29, 2009
5 Wins in a Row!
For anyone interested (and I know you all are) I thought you should know that the Baltimore Orioles have reeled off a five game winning streak! Very exciting! To add to the excitement, the O's recently called up their best prospect in 20 years, catcher Matt Wieters. Their best young position players (Wieters, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones) look great, while their young pitchers (Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz, Jeremy Guthrie, Jason Berken) are progressing on schedule.
I'm sure you'll all have tons of questions about my Orioles, so please don't hesitate to ask. For anyone interested in joining the Baltimore bandwagon, jump on now, because it'll be filling up shortly.
See you all next post. Until then...Go O's!
I'm sure you'll all have tons of questions about my Orioles, so please don't hesitate to ask. For anyone interested in joining the Baltimore bandwagon, jump on now, because it'll be filling up shortly.
See you all next post. Until then...Go O's!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Back in the Habit
I love the Todd County Tribune. They've been very enthusiastic about my submissions for publication. My recent press release about the Todd County High School National Honor Society's day on a Habitat for Humanity construction site was published in this week's edition. Included were photos of the group and the homeowner. Very cool!
The only downsides were the misspelling of Habitat in the headline ("Habit") and an error in one of the captions. I had sent over the information without typos, so I'm not sure how that happened. But I can't complain about more publicity for Habit... I mean, Habitat.
The only downsides were the misspelling of Habitat in the headline ("Habit") and an error in one of the captions. I had sent over the information without typos, so I'm not sure how that happened. But I can't complain about more publicity for Habit... I mean, Habitat.
Friday, May 15, 2009
RSVP volunteer honored for service
This article isn't from South Dakota, but from my home state of Delaware. An award was given to an RSVP volunteer who has spent 12,000 hours over 34 years taking phone calls for a crisis hot line. Amazing!
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