Yesterday I nailed my goal of running 10 marathons all fast enough to qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon in 10 different states.
This is a new record.
My 10th race on Sunday was in Tampa, Florida. I was thrilled to finish second out of the 86 in my age group with a time of 3:32:04 for the 26.2 miles. This equates to running at 8 minutes and 5 seconds a mile. If you have a treadmill, that is the 7.5 setting.
The race course was beautiful. It started at 6:00 o’clock a.m. in the pitch black, and as the sun rose, we could see Tampa Bay before we headed through downtown and then ran out and back along a 13 mile stretch of Bay Shore Boulevard.
Here is a photo of me just after I finished.I ran the Phoenix Rock and Roll Marathon six weeks ago and the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon, where we got to run up and down the Strip, six weeks before that.
My next marathon will be at the famous Boston Marathon. I have run Boston once before and am excited about coming back. I also will visit my 99 year old aunt and my nephew, a Ph.D student at Harvard, while I am there.
I also volunteered for the Cowtown Marathon’s CALF (Children’s Activities for Life & Fitness) Council to help our kids run and learn healthy habits. I adopted the Rufino Mendoza Elementary School five years ago and especially support its running club, See here. ________.