Running Update and World Wide Half Marathon Race Report.

I took most of the summer off from regular updating, but now it’s well into fall (or, as we call it here in the Midwest, “winter”) and it’s time to start holding myself accountable again.

My last running post was my race report on the Chicago Half Marathon. Since then, my training has been pretty inconsistent and low energy, which showed in my dismal performance for the 4th annual World Wide Half Marathon, part of the World Wide Festival of Races, which also includes a 5K and 10K. The WWFOR has runners all over the world, each running his or her own race, either alone, with a few friends, or as part of an organized “official” race.  I finished in 2:00:07, 13:30 slower than my time for the Chicago Half three weeks earlier and 24:21 slower than my time for the 1st World Wide Half back in 2006. I don’t know why I was so slow, except that my running has been off and on lately and my legs still felt pretty wiped out as late as Saturday evening from a workout I did on Thursday morning. It was also damn cold, 29 degrees at the start, but I don’t think that would have had much effect.

Probably the biggest factor, though, was that as a virtual race, the World Wide Half is a race you run alone. I had a beautiful run on the North Branch Trail starting in Caldwell Woods, one of the Cook County Forest Preserves; I’ve never run that trail before, but I certainly will again.  The trail was wonderful, but I did miss the energy of other racers.

And last but not least, were the two trains that crossed my unstructured imaginary racecourse, and probably cost me four minutes.

This coming Saturday, I’m running what will probably be my final race of the season, the Men’s Health Urbanathlon, an 11.76 mile race and obstacle course.  I’m particularly looking forward to the Taxi Hurdle.