Idaho

Order in which state was run: 24

Order in which state was admitted into the union: 43

A silk flag, blue field, five feet six inches fly, and four feet four inches on pike, bordered with gilt fringe two and one-half inches in width, with state seal of Idaho twenty-one inches in diameter, in colors, in the center of a blue field. The woman represents liberty, justice and equality. The man is a miner. The pictures on the shield represent the main industries of forestry, farming and mining. The cornucopias, or horn of plenty are symbols of abundance. The elks head represents wildlife. Esto perpetua (Let it be perpetual). The words "State of Idaho" are embroidered in with block letters, two inches in height on a red band three inches in width by twenty-nine inches in length, the band being in gold and placed about eight and one-half inches from the lower border of fringe and parallel with the same. Flag adopted 1907.

 

Date: April 21, 2007
Race: Race to Robie Creek
City: Boise
Cost: $38.02

 

A Running Times article on several interesting half marathons around the country was the source for many of the initial/top 25 states that I ran.  Race to Robie Creek was one of those races.  I believe it fell into the category of toughest course...... 8 miles up a mountain and then a fast 5 miles down the mountain to a festive post race finish in a local park.

 

Given the limited size of the post race finish area, the field was small.  Fingers needed to be in peak performance the day race registration opened as slots were filled on a first come first served basis.  The server was on crash status the entire opening day.... sorta like Obamacare is these days!  After hours of attempting to enter the site and successfully complete registration, I entered.  However, the serves crashed before I received my confirmation.  So I wasn't totally certain that I was registered unitl my credit card charge came through later that week.

 

Race weekend was my fifth consecutive week of weekend travels.  It started with ING Georgia half and was followed by a wedding, Easter and another wedding.  At some point in my travels, I came down with a major head cold race weekend.  I learned about Earplanes, the devices you wear in your ears to keep stuff open while flying to keep your head from exploding.

 

Race logistics weren't exactly inviting for solo travelers as the available parking was at a lot away from both the start and finish areas.  A shuttle was provided from the finish to the parking but runners were on their own to furnish parking lot transportation to the start. 

 

I woke up race morning not feeling like running a half marathon.  I remember sitting in the hotel thinking to myself that if I didn't run the race I would have to return to Idaho.  Nothing personal against Idaho, but that thought got me out the door with my cellphone and a taxi phone number in hand.  Runners are a friendly bunch and I was able to get a ride to the start from a local that had a ride to the start. 

 

The race was as difficult as advertised; I ended up doing quite a bit of walking once the course incline got steep towards the mountain peak.  The last 5 miles were brisk and the race party seemed festive but with a head cold and not feeling well I caught an early shuttle back to my rental car.

 

I think it was after this race that travel fatigue set in and I established the goal of running state number 50 on my 50th birthday.

 

 

No finisher medal but an awesome light up button with the races theme.

 

Up next: Ohio

Georgia

Order in which state was run: 23

Order in which state was admitted into the union: 4

The Georgia flag has three red and white stripes and the state coat of arms on a blue field in the upper left corner.Thirteen stars surrounding the seal denotes Georgia's position as one of the original thirteen colonies. On the seal three pillars supporting an arch represent the three branches of government; legislative, judicial and executive. A man with sword drawn is defending the Constitution, whose principles are wisdom, justice and moderation. The date 1776 represents the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Flag adopted May 8th, 2003.

Date: March 25, 2007
Race: Inaugural ING Georgia Half Marathon
City: Atlanta
Cost: $65.00

 

I believe we had nice cool weather for this race; some hills but nothing too bad.  MARTA is the southernmost metro transit system that I have used.  Nice transportation from the airport to downtown Atlanta.

 

Up next: Idaho

Gulf Coast Half Marathon - Louisiana Northshore

After not running for 3 months,  I ran my second half marathon in 8 days...... and survived!

I actually ran almost 30 seconds per mile faster than Jazz 1/2 the previous Saturday: 11:17 overall pace versus an 11:46 jazz pace.  Much cooler weather was a definite factor in the faster pace.  Another huge factor in the faster pace was the fact that my son ran the entire race with me as a training run for his 1/2 ironman distance event in a couple of weeks.  I was able to maintain a 10 minute per mile pace for the first 5 miles.  After that I ran between 11 and 13 minute paces with lots of walk breaks scattered in with my running.

This race was the second of five races that I had in my race que prior to my learning of my degenerative meniscus tear and my stopping training.  My three remaining races are 2 half marathons and a 10k all in the first half of 2014.  After that, I do not plan on running any additional races.  However, my performance the past 2 weekends has me confident that I could complete a Disneyland Paris 1/2 event if such event is organized.

 Half marathon number 75 done!

 Horrible pic of  my backside eating post race goodies.

 World's most useful race medal!

Waldog/Walmonster was too anxious for his morning walk to pose.

South Carolina

Order in which state was run: 22

Order in which state was admitted into the union: 8

Asked by the Revolutionary Council of Safety in the fall of 1775 to design a flag for the use of South Carolina troops, Col. William Moultrie chose a blue which matched the color of their uniforms and a crescent which reproduced the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps. The palmetto tree was added later to represent Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto-log fort on Sullivan's Island against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776.

 

Date: February 10, 2007
Race: Hilton Head Island Half Marathon
City: Hilton Head Island
Cost: $33.00

 

 

HHI Half Marathon and 10k was a nice small race that had perfect running weather.  This is the only state where I have no race photo, there was no race medal, and I don't have my bib from the race.  However, this race is priceless in that it is my half marathon PR race.  The race wasn't chip timed, bag check for me was a tree near the start where I left the sweatshirt I wore until right before race start.  Temperatures stayed in the 40's with mist at the start of the race.

 

Up next: Georgia

2006 Update Complete

2006 was clearly the most active period for me running in new states.  I had run half marathons in a total of 10 states at the end of 2005.  I ran in 11 states in 2006 with all of the states being new running states for me. 

Part of the reason for the surge in states was that I realized I wasn't getting any younger and there were a lot of states out there.  Travel opportunities also opended up for me in 2006 as I settled into The Woodlands, TX at the end of 2005.  Being just north of Bush Intercontiental in Houston I was able to travel easier to more locations than being remote in New Orleans.

2006 on the map

 

 

I actually ran more states in 2007; I ran a total of 12 states in 2007.  However, not all 2007 states run were new.  The states ran in 2007 also did not cover as wide an area as 2006.

 

 

2007 on the map



Couch 2 Half Marthon..... DOMS is a sounds like W I T C H

I completed my 4th consecutive Jazz Half marathon Saturday.  This was definetely the toughest of the four as I was unable to train due to a meniscus tear.  Here's what my daily mileage has looked like since running the Fargo Half marathon in May (Saturday through Sunday):


13.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 3.1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2.1 0 2.2 0 2.27 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13.1

Basically a whole lot of zeros from late May to early October.  Even with all the time off the knee hasn't gotten better so I have another ortho consult tomorrow and will most likely get the knee scoped.

I wore an Ace knee bandage for the race.  I was able to spot myself on the WDSU coverage of the race thanks to the black brace on my knee:

Just call me ACE

 

 

The race itself was very well attended. There was an announced field of 3,100 runners but I believe quite a few were 5k runners as there were right under 2,000 finishers.

 

 

I had much appreciated Blue Bell ice cream at the post race party then headed back home to get ready (recover) for next Sunday's Gulf Coast Half Marathon.  I was able to get Waldo Guacamole to take a break from lizzard hunting to pose with my medal.

 

 

 Where is that pesky lizzard!



Will pose for treats!

Nevada

Order in which state was run: 21

Order in which state was admitted into the union: 36

On a cobalt blue background in the upper left quarter is a five-pointed silver star between two sprays of sagebrush crossed to form a half wreath; across the top of the wreath is a golden scroll with the words, in black letters, "Battle Born". The name "Nevada" is beneath the star in gold letters. The current Nevada State Flag design was adopted March 26, 1929, and revised in 1991.

 

 



Date: December 10, 2006
Race: Las Vegas Half Marathon
City: Las Vegas
Cost: $90.80

Devine (I believe now defunct) was the race organizer....or rather disorganizer.  This race had the most disorganized start and finish area that I have ever witnessed.  Elite racing acquired this event soon after the 2006 version and it became part of the Rock n Roll series.

The first half of the race was really cool running down the Vegas Strip at 6 am.  The return portion of the race was on the back side of the strip with a head wind so tough and boring.

 

Up next: South Carolina