Dam to Backpocket 7 Miler

School buses took us to Coralville dam. Apparently, I rode one of the last buses.  There were buses for the 5K and buses for the 7 miler. The bus was 60% full. It arrived to the dam and took us to the top of the road. Saw some familiar faces, David and his daughter. Also saw Dan and Lauren, and decided to stay with them. 

Race started a few minutes after five PM and there was this downhill all within the first mile, so I took advantage of gravity. But then, we had to climb the road. This speedy lady in front of me was really struggling to run up the hill. I tried to keep up with her. Then, flat road. Stayed with a guy about my age.  Dan and Lauren were behind me. 

Debuque Road. Not far, had to change sides. Then, it was all familiar course. Saw the mile three post. Then, we got to the Water Park. Sun was hitting us badly, but we just kept going. There was a lot of room between runners at this time. Went through the I-80 tunnel and knew the Peninsula uphill was coming, but I made it. Peninsula Neighborhood. Hot. Dog park. I knew the end was coming. Last mile. A guy about my age in a blue shirt caught up with me.  I had to let him go. Although I tried to keep up with him.  It helped me to maintain the pace. Almost passed him, but he didn't let me. Crossed the finish line. We shook hands and he congratulated me for a good race! Amazingly, I shaved about 20 seconds off last year's. 

Time: 56:28 min.

Pace: 7:58 MM.

Garmin Connect: http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/572204330

Lauren Hill and me. 

Lauren Hill, Dan Beck and his son, Jordan. 

David Nelson and his daughter. 

Amana Colonies Backroads Half Marathon

Saturday, August 9, 2014. Amana Colonies Backroads Half Marathon. Dan, Cristie, and Dave met with me in my house early morning. I drove to Amana Colonies and we arrived with plenty of time before the start. Race started at 7:30 AM. The night before I picked up my bib and package, and also drove the 13 miles of the course to explore it and check out the hills we had to run. I knew what to expect more or less.

Race started and I ran close to Dave and Dan for a few miles. Pace was very close to 8:00 MM. There were a few young girls in front of us, and it was my desire to catch them. I thought they were going to slow down running up the hills, but they didn't. I was able to catch one or two, but they passed me again after a few miles. 

I remember running with a nice girl for the last few miles. She asked me which way to turn close to the last two miles. She said she was ready to have a beer or two. I wasn't able to keep up her pace and had to let her go. She finished like three or four places ahead of me. I slowed down for the last few miles. 

We got a pretty nice medal at the end of the race. We took some pics and got hydrated.

UI Track

My Garmin has not been working properly, the reset button is not working. Therefore, it cannot record properly my 800's chronos. I have been carrying a stop watch, which works great. Every 800 was less than 3:30, sometimes 3:15. Pushed a little bit too hard. Decided to wear the Newtons. Unfortunately, I was having this pain on top of the foot (right foot). Pain increased after running.  Not sure what caused the injury, was it the tennis shoes? was it pushing it too hard? most probably... both.

August

The trip to Cozumel was very exciting. Took a snorkling trip in a glass-bottom boat. The guys took us to three reefs. The first one was called El cielo. Then, we went to Colombia. The water was calm and super clear.

I did four dives. All of them were super exciting. I believe we went as deep as 65 feet. I really would like to get my own gear. Need to save some money.

We ran almost every day. Ran on the sandals wearing my toe-socks. My feet were hurting, but I guess it is normal, after giving them so much work.